Intelligent Insurer News

Lloyd’s has accelerated its profitability review as it attempts to turn around underperforming syndicates—but as its latest results prove, there remains a long and potentially winding road ahead. Intelligent Insurer reports.

More cedants are using reinsurance to reduce their earnings volatility as they attempt to make their businesses more attractive to investors in a low-yield environment, Jean-Paul Conoscente, chief executive of P&C reinsurance business globally at SCOR, told Baden-Baden Today.

The Guy Carpenter Baden-Baden 2018 Reinsurance Symposium has raised the question of where the recent wave of mergers & acquisitions (M&A) is taking the sector.

New Reinsurance Company (NewRe) is eyeing significant growth potential outside the subdued European traditional property/casualty (P&C) segment, especially in life business, weather risk and structured solutions, Renate Strasser, chief executive of NewRe, told Baden-Baden Today.

Advances being made by insurtech will be fundamental to the industry going forward and is a key part of the strategy of broker Ed for this reason, Jonathan Prinn, group head of broking at Ed, told Baden-Baden Today.

The use of blockchain may help to overcome issues of trust between parties where there is a potential conflict of interest, and its use may even command a higher premium on contracts where the payment of a claim is automated, Magdalena Ramada Sarasola, senior economist at Willis Towers Watson, suggested to Baden-Baden Today.

Benoît des Cressonnières, chief executive officer of Euler Hermes Reinsurance, with responsibility for the company’s buying programme, says he is expecting a steady renewal with little change in pricing, despite some pressure from reinsurers for rate increases on the back of the 2017 catastrophe losses suffered by many global reinsurers.

To secure growth in Europe, Swiss Re is taking a more holistic and innovative approach, the firm’s Russell Higginbotham tells Baden-Baden Today.

A restructure within the Mapfre Group will allow reinsurance unit Mapfre Re to expand its range of products and remit, Eduardo Perez de Lema, chief executive officer and chairman of the management committee of Mapfre Re, told Baden-Baden Today.

Broker BMS is looking to collaborate with its suppliers and insurers to ensure it maximises the potential of insurtech solutions, and it has set up a new unit dedicated to achieving this, Adam Stafford, the chief operating officer of BMS Group, told Baden-Baden Today.

Following multiple quarters of missed earnings, American International Group’s (AIG’s) large third quarter cat losses will further weigh on investor sentiment, Morgan Stanley said in a note.

Former DARAG CEO and current SOVAG chairman Arndt Gossmann has revealed plans to create a new risk carrier focusing on portfolio restructuring of non-life insurers in Europe with Munich Re as its reinsurance partner.

American International Group (AIG) expects to report third quarter 2018 pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, of approximately $1.5 to $1.7 billion.

Broker Aon has established a new ventures group as part of its growth strategy and assigned members of its senior leadership team to oversee it.

Asset manager New Nordic Advisors has revealed that its Denmark-based wholly-owned subsidiary Qudos Insurance will cease to underwrite new business with immediate effect, pending a restructuring of the business.

London-based managing general agent (MGA) startup Agile Risk Partners and US-based insurtech OnRisk are collaborating to develop an advanced, CAD-style platform for underwriting, structuring and distributing high-value P&C risk.

Bermuda-based Everest Re Group estimates pre-tax catastrophe losses for the third quarter of 2018 of $240 million, net of reinsurance.

Charles Taylor Managing Agency has placed Syndicate 1884, which is managed by the business, into run-off.

Lower catastrophe losses in the third quarter of 2018 have helped The Travelers Companies to more than double the profit in the period compared to the previous year.

Everest Insurance has appointed Chris McKeon to lead its risk management and commercial casualty business units.