August 2017/1

Third party capital bolstered growth for both Validus asset manager AlphaCat and Bermudian carrier RenaissanceRe in the second quarter.

Willis Towers Watson Securities has said the record $6.3bn of non-life cat bond issuance in the second quarter may spell the beginning of the end for traditional property cat reinsurance.

Bermuda-based carriers generated high single-digit operating returns on equity (RoE) in the second quarter of the year as a benign level of cat losses allowed underwriting margins to widen.

The absence of major catastrophes allowed second quarter underwriting margins to improve in Bermuda from the previous year, when heavy cat losses severely dented results.

Top line growth slowed at Bermuda-based (re)insurers in the second quarter, with carriers proceeding cautiously in a bleak pricing environment.

Insurance executives gave further indications that rates in the US commercial P&C market are flattening last month, though they refrained from claiming that the market has found a bottom.

The regulatory requirements surrounding Part VII portfolio transfers look set to increase under proposals from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Insurers and intermediaries face upheaval as the UK's financial regulators prepare to roll out conduct and accountability rules originally devised for bankers in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Hiscox CEO Bronek Masojada confirmed that his company intends to use Lloyd's Brussels for its European big-ticket business, while utilising its Luxembourg hub for its growing retail offering on the continent.

US healthcare diagnostic firm LabCorp has initiated legal action against AIG Specialty and Liberty Mutual after the insurers refused to pay out on a $10mn policy over the company's loss of a class action suit.

A cohort of hull underwriters led by Aspen have lost their appeal to sue the banker of Turkey-based Kairos Shipping in an English court to recoup a $22mn payment for a ship that was later judged to have been scuttled.

The news that Dale Underwriting Partners is sponsoring a special purpose arrangement (SPA) syndicate for a group of contingency and property underwriters led by Tom Phillipson offers fresh evidence that Lloyd's is using the vehicles to foster entrepreneurial talent.

Zurich has reached the second stage in the disposal of its EUR400mn ($470mn) German legacy medical malpractice book, having selected three run-off carriers to participate in the next round of bids, The Insurance Insider understands.

Markel views its proposed acquisition State National as a strong growth engine, with the fronting specialist well-positioned to take advantage of secular trends in the P&C sector driven by alternative capital and InsurTech.

Oak Hill's acquisition of Carlyle Group's majority stake in Epic Insurance Brokers is the latest deal in what seems to be a near-constant churn of ownership among private equity-backed intermediaries.

Epic Insurance Brokers president Pete Garvey is looking for acquisitions that would represent a strategic fit for the fast-growing business after principal financial backer Carlyle Group agreed to sell its majority stake to Oak Hill late last month in a deal valuing the firm at nearly $1bn.

The greatest paradox of today is that some of our best marketers are actually the worst communicators.

Low levels of catastrophe losses flattered second quarter results at risk carriers, as market conditions continued to apply upward pressure to core loss ratios amid softening reserve releases.

Lloyd's deputy chairman; PRA raises facilities concerns; Kilpatrick joins Fidelis; MS Amlin in Brussels; Hailstorm Paul losses...