Intelligent Insurer News

Antares plans to combine with sister company Qatar Re to buy reinsurance this year—and predicts rate reductions as a result, head of ceded reinsurance Richard Anson told Monte Carlo Today.

The concept of ‘payback’ in the aftermath of heavy catastrophe losses has now gone for good, and reinsurers must adjust accordingly, Charles Cooper, chief executive of reinsurance for XL Group, told Monte Carlo Today.

A mixture of innovation and further commitment to the reinsurance market will mean more opportunities for carriers to work with Freddie Mac, the US-government sponsored enterprise (GSE) that provides liquidity to the US mortgage markets by buying mortgages from lenders, on its risk transfer programme, Gina Healy, vice president of credit risk transfer, Freddie Mac, told Monte Carlo Today.

An uptick in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is accelerating a trend whereby the traditional re/insurance value chain is being replaced by a broader risk ecosystem with less defined boundaries between players, Victor Peignet, CEO of SCOR Global P&C, told Monte Carlo Today.

Technology can help property/casualty (P&C) insurers achieve the 10 percent return on equity (ROE) that investors expect, according to the latest Swiss Re sigma study.

The reinsurers of the future will partner with alternative capital, leverage technology, give clients solutions they want and have a good handle on their cost base—those were some of the conclusions of S&P Global’s Annual Reinsurance Roundtable at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo.

Cedants are turning to CCR Re because of its technical expertise and quick response to inquiries, Laurent Montador, deputy chief executive, CCR Re, told Monte Carlo Today.

Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions business will reveal more details of two new units this week: one focused on de-risking public sector bodies and a new capital advisory unit. Nick Frankland, UK chief executive, discloses more to Monte Carlo Today.

Amid the great uncertainty surrounding the nature of Brexit, insurers and intermediaries must ensure they futureproof their businesses for any outcome, Steve Quinn, managing director and head of mainland Europe, Artex Risk Solutions, tells Monte Carlo Today.

The depressed situation in the marine insurance segment is unlikely to change any time soon, but Munich Re believes that investing in technology will allow it to better select and price risk, and is hoping for a first-mover advantage and to provide new products, John Wilkinson, CEO of the marine division at Munich Re Syndicate, told Monte Carlo Today.

Against a backdrop of high expense ratios, attritional losses and underperforming business, the Lloyd’s market had its worst year in 2017 since the 1990s, according to Stonybook Capital’s first edition ‘Property & Casualty Insurance Review’.

Economic recovery in Latin America is slowly improving the growth outlook for reinsurers in the region, but strong competition is expected to exert pressure on rates and earnings, Patria Re CEO Manuel Escobedo, told Monte Carlo Today.

Real-time catastrophe data can provide claims adjusters in insurance companies with better information and allow them to make risk decisions in real time, whether that be buying live cat over, buying more reinsurance or in the ILS market, Karen Clark, CEO and founder of Karen Clark & Company (KCC), told Monte Carlo Today.

On the back of expansion through acquisitions, an upgrade, investments in technology and solid organic growth, Sava Re is heading into this year’s renewal season in a buoyant mood, says CEO Marko Jazbec.

Although the last 12 months have painted a very dark picture of the industry in some ways, through 2018 there has been some robust growth among re/insurance companies.

Following record cat bond issuance in 2017 and the HIM losses, the ILS market has proved its resilience over the last 12 months and is continuing to strengthen well into 2018.

Rate increases have tapered off since the January 2018 renewal, with lower, single-digit rate increases in the June and July renewals, according to Megan McConnell, director of underwriting London at Hiscox Re & ILS.

Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for the global reinsurance sector to stable from negative, saying it believes that earnings have settled at a “new normal”, with return on capital likely to be more modest but less volatile than before.

As consolidation continues, the majority of re/insurance professionals think that M&A will change the reinsurance landscape, according to an online survey carried out by Intelligent Insurer ahead of this renewals season.

John Neal is “as good a bet as any” to take on the “toughest job in insurance” according to market observers speaking in reaction to the revelation just before the Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous that he will take the reins at Lloyd’s.