property catastrophe

Equity analysts at Goldman Sachs are expecting a meaningful slow-down in property catastrophe reinsurance pricing through 2024 and perhaps beyond, but at least for the year ahead, they are not anticipating any meaningful decline.

Including the latest reinsurance renewals data from January 1st 2024, global property catastrophe reinsurance rates are now up by an estimated 76% since 2017, according to Guy Carpenter’s widely cited Index.

Property catastrophe reinsurance renewals saw another wide range of outcomes even in a more orderly market, as capacity providers still demanded steep increases for programs that had been loss-affected during the last year, with global property cat rates seen as ranging from flat to up by 30%.

Recent results from major Italian primary insurance companies have clearly evidenced that reinsurance terms, conditions and higher attachments are driving higher retention of catastrophe losses, eroding insurer performance, Fitch Ratings has highlighted.

Property catastrophe reinsurance capacity is expected to remain relatively flat at the January 2024 renewals according to a survey from broker Gallagher Re, which also suggests that reinsurer appetite for writing aggregate coverage and lower-layers remains limited.

Aspen Insurance Holdings has announced a senior hire, bringing onboard Tim Mardon as Global Head of Property Catastrophe Reinsurance and Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) of Aspen Bermuda, joining the firm from his most recent position at SiriusPoint.

Rating agency AM Best has noted that there are signs of increasing appetite for property catastrophe reinsurance, saying that capacity to service that part of the market may be close to a “positive inflection point.”

Everest Group reported quarterly results that show ongoing expansion into the hard property catastrophe reinsurance market, where the company says pricing continues to rise at more than 30%, while terms and conditions are still improving.

Swiss Re, one of the largest global reinsurance companies, said today that the hard market in property catastrophe lines is expected to continue, as a supply-demand disequilibrium persists and profitability remains challenged for the non-life re/insurance segment.

Despite writing more business at the April renewals this year, Berkshire Hathaway’s property catastrophe reinsurance book is “very unbalanced” according to Ajit Jain, with the giant insurance and reinsurance balance-sheet still significantly exposed to Florida hurricanes.