November 2016/3

Lloyd's managing agents are a fiercely independent bunch.

Share price data on The Insurance Insider's universe of P&C (re)insurers

The P&C insurance sector made strong gains last week as initial expectations of a rout following Donald Trump's shock win in the US presidential election proved unfounded, with financial stocks galloping forwards, led by banks and life insurers.

Aggregate returns for the US specialty composite dropped year-on-year in the third quarter as underwriting margins narrowed while investment yields remained relatively flat.

The Insurance Insider's new composite of six major players in the US specialty market recorded lower underwriting margins as the third quarter was hit by weaker reserve releases and higher core loss ratios.

The upward trajectory in premium growth for US specialty carriers started to show signs of plateauing in the third quarter as insurers pulled back from some lines amid competitive pricing.

There is evidence that the stabilisation of rates seen in parts of the reinsurance market may be starting to arrive in the primary insurance space, albeit with a significant lag.

Hellman joins Thomas Miller; Marsh acquires Bluefin; Brit diamond consortium; New Zealand earthquake; Standard Syndicate loss deteriorates; Watsa backs US equities; TMK 2015 forecasts down; Aspen appoints insurance head; UK China ILS appeal; Zurich names UK CEO; Allianz P&C profits up; Hannover Re Matthew loss; XL appoints global excess casualty president.

Chinese conglomerate Fosun has revealed it is targeting European and possibly Asian run-off assets.

The UK chancellor's Autumn Statement will provide further detail on the provision of the taxation and structural positions to make London an insurance-linked securities (ILS) hub, The Insurance Insider understands.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) plans to close its US defined-benefit (DB) pension plan at the end of this year and replace it with a defined-contribution (DC) scheme, in a move that parallels the shutdown of its much larger UK DB plan two years ago.

Broker facilities have limited durability and will not be a permanent feature of the market, according to Tokio Marine Kiln's head of innovation Tom Hoad.