Reinsurance renewals news

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is expected to buy more reinsurance and risk transfer in 2024 as its exposure grows and it has been advised to get into the catastrophe bond market sooner than later to renew a maturing issuance, while also starting its reinsurance renewal planning as soon as possible.

Florida’s property insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, could increase its purchase of reinsurance and catastrophe bond backed risk transfer in 2024, with its new layer structure following the merging of its accounts suggesting as much as $5.5 billion could be purchased next year.

Analysts in the European insurance team at investment banking giant Deutsche Bank are forecasting that risk-adjusted reinsurance renewal prices will be broadly neutral to slightly up in 2024, with the hard market persisting throughout the year.

LGT ILS Partners, the specialist dedicated insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment unit of the private bank and asset manager LGT Capital Partners, is confident that market conditions are going to remain attractive into 2024, even expecting some marginal price increases in certain areas of the reinsurance renewals.

Reinsurance capital supply is set to outstrip demand at certain return periods, according to Howden Tiger’s Head of North America Reinsurance, Wade Gulbransen, who explained that, as a result, the broker is asking clients and markets to look at how frequency cat loss issues can be addressed.

Rating agency AM Best is maintaining its stable outlook for the global reinsurance industry, but noted that new capital remains cautious on the sector despite a growing need for more of it to flow in.

Catastrophe exposed commercial property insurance renewals are expected to see some of the biggest rate gains in 2024, as pressure continues and a challenged reinsurance market drives buyers towards alternative solutions, to offset rising rates.

Fitch Ratings forecasts that property catastrophe reinsurance renewal rate increases will decelerate in 2024, with an average increase expected to be below 10% at the January renewal season.

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.

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has said that it forecasts insurance industry losses from natural catastrophe events will exceed US $100 billion again in 2023, leading it to also forecast that non-life hard market conditions will be sustained through 2024, at least.