Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) global head of financial lines Bernard Poncin has left the insurer “to pursue opportunities outside the company”, as yet another senior executive departs. Mr Poncin is replaced by Shanil Williams, who was previously global head of commercial for financial lines. Mr Poncin’s departure follows a series of unexpected changes at AGCS that suggest not…
Insurance buyers with US risks face the “biggest upward price shift” for years during 2020, with increases across more lines than in “recent memory”, according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Property, excess liability and D&O cover will be hardest hit, according to the broker. It notes that several other lines of business are looking at increases “topping out at well…
Commercial insurance rates rose by an average 4% in continental Europe during the third quarter of 2019 and 12% in the UK, according to the latest Global Insurance Market Index from Marsh. As previously reported by Commercial Risk Europe, global increases of 8% were the largest since the survey began in 2012 and the eighth consecutive quarter of average price…
The Bank of England says it will challenge UK and London insurers over “inadequate” reserves, particularly in specialty lines, during the next few months and has also demanded action on workplace culture. In a letter to all UK general insurance CEOs, the bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) says it has seen an increasing risk of reserving deficiencies at insurance firms,…
Beazley has extended its myBeazley broker e-trading platform, which already operates in the UK and France, to Spain. Spanish brokers will now be able to access specialist insurance products online, including management liability, professional liability and cyber. The latter includes Beazley Breach Response to help firms deal with data breaches or cyberattacks. Francisco Antonio Alcaide, specialty lines underwriter and lead…
Marsh’s Global Insurance Market Index recorded its largest ever commercial insurance price rise of nearly 8% in the third quarter since it began tracking data in 2012, Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) CEO Dan Glaser revealed during the broker’s latest results call, as the firm posted strong revenue growth since the JLT acquisition. The average global price rise across P&C lines…
France’s risk management association AMRAE says the commercial insurance market has turned and advised French companies to budget for between a 5% and 20% rise in insurance spend, while being be prepared to keep a higher volume of risks on their balance sheets. In its annual State of the Market report based on a survey of brokers, the association adds that…
The D&O market is set to harden further for European and global firms at upcoming renewals, with a potential capacity shortage on the cards for some buyers as insurers try to turn around a badly performing line of business. As mounting claims frequency and severity combines with more than a decade of soft pricing, D&O insurers have produced some bad…
Heightened political and economic uncertainty is driving up credit risk, increasing the threat of insolvencies and supply chain disruption. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) latest outlook, the global economy is becoming increasingly fragile and uncertain. Downside risks continue to mount, with growth slowing to its weakest rate since the financial crisis. In particular, the OECD…
Specialist Lloyd’s-based insurer Beazley has followed up its announcement made earlier this week about its Asian expansion plans, by revealing that it has taken a 30% stake in Pegasus, a Hong Kong-based coverholder. Beazley began working with Pegasus in January 2019, in an arrangement that the insurer said combines the coverholder’s knowledge of the market and strong broking relationships with…