April 2017/2

InsurTech funding is beginning to get serious.

InsurTech start-ups that can help the traditional industry identify and solve procedural pain-points are the ones most likely to succeed in the long term, according to Aquiline chairman and chief executive Jeff Greenberg.

Underwriting executives at Lloyd's syndicates have bemoaned the persistent soft conditions in the market, as they braced themselves for another year of the same.

Syndicate 2001, MS Amlin's flagship vehicle at Lloyd's, recorded a combined ratio of 103 percent in 2016 following a significant rise in catastrophe claims.

Neon's Syndicate 2468 has reported a combined ratio of 217 percent for 2016, following a 69 percentage point deterioration to the loss ratio.

The number of open years at Lloyd's increased to six for 2016, as three syndicates were unable to close their 2014 year of account (YoA).

With Q1 earnings calls and RIMS 2017 looming, executive management at carriers and brokers can expect plenty of questions over the trajectory of pricing line-by-line on their portfolios of business.

Consolidation in the US primary crop market has reduced quota share demand, which has led some reinsurers to question their future involvement in the business.

While falling rates coupled with M&A activity have altered the dynamics for reinsurers, primary carriers of multi-peril crop insurance (MPCI) and crop hail cover have been pinched by regulated rates for the former and the latter's increasing status as a loss leader.

The numbers tell a very stark story indeed.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is the lead insurer for a $500mn loss related to the grounding of faulty Airbus helicopters last year, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Underwriters must move beyond the "blunt force of rate" to address the frequency and severity issues blighting personal and commercial auto lines, according to Zurich's head of North America Commercial Insurance Paul Horgan.