The US commercial property and casualty (P&C) market continued to harden in the first quarter of this year, with significant premium pricing increases in all lines and account sizes, with the exception of workers compensation, according to The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ (CIAB) quarterly commercial P&C market survey. The survey found that premium prices across all-sized accounts increased…
Guernsey has declared itself open for business as the island releases itself from lockdown, with no new Covid-19 cases for four weeks and currently no known active cases on the island. However, it said the island’s borders remain effectively closed at this stage of recovery, with any travel into the island requiring a strict 14-day quarantine period. Guernsey Finance said…
South Korea’s non-life insurance sector’s deteriorated loss ratios in major business lines, escalated pressure on investment earnings amid a historic low interest rate environment and increased asset risk due to capital market volatility, have led AM Best to revise its market segment outlook to negative from stable on the sector. Best said South Korea’s non-life insurance segment went through a…
The four natural disaster catastrophes declared in Australia during the 2019-2020 summer have already cost more than AU$5.19bn, with more than 15,000 new claims worth AU$270m lodged in the past four weeks, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). Campbell Fuller, ICA head of communications, said: “Thousands of new claims and property loss assessments have pushed total claims to…
The coronavirus crisis will see the global reinsurance sector fail to earn its cost of capital in 2020, according to Fitch Ratings. It said financial performance will be hit by mortality claims and losses from event cancellation, business interruption, credit and surety insurance, as well as by financial market disruption linked to the economic impact of lockdown measures. The ratings…
Nordic Capital has signed an agreement to acquire Max Matthiessen from Willis Towers Watson. Max Matthiessen is a leading financial adviser within pensions, insurance and investment in the Nordic region, headquartered in Stockholm. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed and it is subject to customary regulatory approvals. According to Nordic Capital, an investor in the financial services sector:…
The overall impact from the Covid-19 pandemic on the US property and casualty (P&C) industry was limited in the first quarter 2020 reporting period, but net unrealised capital losses resulted in a 9% decrease in surplus, according to AM Best. The industry’s net income increased 3.5% from the prior year period to $17.7bn. The US P&C industry’s surplus level decreased…
Insurance brokers are ideally positioned to help organisations address the problems that are hindering their adoption of cyber insurance, according to a new report from cyber risk analytics specialist CyberCube.
An organisation’s approach to cybersecurity must be embedded within its overall approach to enterprise risk management, with boards responsible for enabling the right culture and frameworks, explain Sebastian Hess and Stephen Morton. Companies and their boards are faced with a highly dynamic cyber risk landscape, including more targeted ransomware threats and, more recently, exposures associated with increased remote working. The…
The US Insurance Information Institute has launched a new campaign that it said will “focus on ensuring the insurance industry is able to sustain its longstanding role as the country’s backbone of economic growth and stability”. The initiative is called the Future of American Insurance & Reinsurance (FAIR) campaign. The institute said the FAIR campaign is being set into motion…