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February 2012
The February 2012 issue of Reactions is now online. Click through to read a selection of stories from the issue.
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The Bermudian reinsurer has announced Q4 results, including net income of $27.3m, a steep drop from 2010's figures.
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Bermudian insurer Ironshore has announced that Dennis Mahoney and Eric Simonson have been appointed to its board.
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Feature: Woeful investment returns, cat losses and evolving regulatory pressures are causing concern for Bermuda’s insurers and reinsurers.
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Bermuda’s insurers and reinsurers have weathered a torrid 2011 for catastrophes and are now looking optimistically forward to this year, with further price increases and M&A the talk of the island.
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January 2012
Ace’s fourth-quarter results include $155m of cat losses and a reserve charge for Ace’s run-off businesses including Brandywine, of $80m, of which $67m was a pre-tax addition to asbestos and environmental reserves.
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The insurer has named Chen Dai and John Moncavage as principal officer and political risk VP, respectively at the Singapore branch.
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The Bermudian insurer has also raised estimated exposure to Tohoku earthquake by $42.2m to a net loss estimate of $117.3m.
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The reinsurance broker estimates that the market for insurance loss warranties reached trading volumes of $6bn last year, an estimated 10% to 25% increase in trading.
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The insurer has moved to strengthen its London syndicate whilst also recruiting a new director in Australia.
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Interview: Former Alterra reinsurance CEO John Berger has proclaimed his new reinsurance firm, Third Point Re, alive and well following it receiving a financial strength rating of A from AM Best in early January.
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The re/insurer’s fourth quarter results will also include $31m in post-tax losses from its weather and energy risk management unit RenRe Energy Advisors.
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Gross premiums written for the year was around $1.9bn, while overall combined ratio reached around 98%, Alterra’s CEO Marston Becker says.
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The loss estimates include $27.9m from recent Thai floods, and increases of $17.1bn and $11.8bn to earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, respectively.
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Comment: Guy Carpenter’s reinsurance renewals report included a handy checklist of the big themes facing the global insurance and reinsurance market this year. it is noticeable what themes don’t make the list, says Michael Loney, managing editor of Reactions.
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ArgoGlobal to target European D&O business.
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The revised outlook from stable to negative is a result of the company’s recent earnings volatility and increased exposure to higher-volatility assets.
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The ratings agency has placed PartnerRe’s ratings under negative review following the company’s loss estimates from the Thai floods,and Q4 results outlook.
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The Bermudian reinsurance firm also expects to take a hit of $31m in its weather and energy risk management operations from warm weather in the UK and US.
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Impact of RMS v11, exposure to severe losses and overall competitive pressures combined to move US P&C renewal rates up to 5%, says Towers Watson.
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Rating agency says excess capital and good risk management give global reinsurers a cushion against 2011’s high catastrophe losses.
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The agency has upgraded the FSR and ICR of Arch Reinsurance and its affiliates to A+ (Superior) and “aa-”, respectively.
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The insurer consolidates its property energy underwriting in one location to be led by executive VP for Bermuda, Peter Coleman.
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Jason Harris will also be a member of the executive board of XL’s insurance unit.
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The Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market remains “nimble” and resilient, according to a recent report from Fitch, but the firm warned that challenges to the domicile’s advantages remain likely.
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The total includes $15m from updated catastrophe estimates, the reinsurer said.
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INTERVIEW: Greg Case, CEO of Aon, believes that the insurance broker can help its customers manage their way through the tough global operating environment and rise to the challenge of new and complex risks by working on a more robust fact basis.
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The specialty insurer estimates its Q4 results will see $25m-$35m in pre-tax cat losses from the floods.
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The start up has appointed Aon Benfield’s Rob Bredahl and Dan Malloy as CFO and executive VP of underwriting, respectively.
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The P&C re/insurer expects a post-tax operating loss of between $26m and $41m for the fourth quarter of 2011.
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Alterra’s local reinsurance unit will be located in Rio de Janeiro and will be led by it Latin America CEO Carlos Caputo.
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The re/insurer’s loss estimations include around $30m from Thai floods largely those related to business interruption.
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The insurer also announced an increase in catastrophe loss estimates from the first three quarters of 2011 of $48m.
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The insurer also expects updates from previous quarters to impact fourth quarter results by $75m aggregate.
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A strong fourth-quarter for cat bonds has some predicting a “banner year" for the insurance-linked securities market in 2012. Includes full-year data for ILS issuance.
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There was plenty to consider at the 1/1 reinsurance renewals, such as near-record catastrophe losses and irksome risk modelling issues. Now that feedback is in from reinsurers, brokers and cedants, we try to make sense of it all.
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The reinsurer expects to report an after-tax operating loss of between $130m and $150m for fourth quarter of 2011.
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2011 natural catastrophe bond transactions - as of November 17
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XL, RSA, Generali, Hannover Re and P&I clubs are all reportedly facing claims after the Costa Concordia grounded in the Mediterranean on January 14.
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Protectionist reinsurance markets, such as Brazil, limit global risk distribution through reinsurance, notes a coalition of reinsurance trade groups.
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Bermuda's Dah Sing Insurance’s business will be transferred to Dah Sing Insurance Company (1976) in Hong Kong.
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The Bermudian reinsurer expects between $35m and $65m in losses to its 2011 fourth quarter results from the flooding.
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The Bermudian reinsurer believes the floods will result in loss expenses of $55.5m in its fourth quarter 2011 performance.
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The agency has assigned a stable outlook for the personal lines segment, while being sceptical over a long-term reversal in commercial market pricing.
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Data: AM Best data reveals world's largest insurance companies by assets and net premiums.
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The rating agency has maintained its stable outlook for the global reinsurance industry, but suggested that pricing may be moving upward across all business classes.
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It has been a long time coming – but the chief risk officer role seems to have finally, quietly come of age, says Reactions' contributing editor Garry Booth.
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The influence of the chief risk officer is spreading through the insurance industry, says Axel Lehmann, chief risk officer of Zurich Financial Services Group and chairman of the CRO Forum
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The White Mountains subsidiary has bought Bermudian reinsurer Old Lyme’s runoff loss reserve portfolio.
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AM Best assigns ratings to Bermudian start-up reinsurer Third Point Reinsurance Ltd.
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COMMENT: Policymaker and big businesses still have a lot to learn about resilience, judging from the findings of a new report from Chatham House, says Reactions contributing editor Garry Booth.
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The P&C (re)insurer has entered a partnership with Drum Cussac and Compass Risk Management to offer “highest-quality” prevention services to clients.
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The P&C (re)insurer has named Mark Boland as leader of wholesale primary casualty units to guide the team in the US.
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The December 2011/January 2012 issue of Reactions is now online. Click through to read a selection of stories from the issue.
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Reinsurance market rates have “increased by meaningful amounts” over the past six months, says a report from US reinsurance broker Holborn.
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Brian Boornazian, chief executive of Bermudian reinsurer Aspen Re, says the market turn is neither “classic”, nor “dramatic”, and that rates at renewal are still no higher than 1999 prices.