January 2018/2

Rate increases achieved by the property direct and facultative (D&F) market at 1 January could herald the beginning of a slow recovery in the class, which has been one of the greatest victims of the prolonged soft market.

Liberty Mutual emerged as the market leader in the northeast US, where primary homeowners' insurers face the prospect of mounting claims from subzero temperatures and heavy snowfall

Cat bond issuance reached a record $11.1bn last year as sponsors took advantage of low rates and an overhang of supply from 2016 to buy cover

The Insurance Insider's index of 50 P&C (re)insurance companies - The Insider 50 - grew by 11.3 percent in 2017 to 1,149.63 index points, a median performance relative to other major market indices.

Last week, we revealed AIG had purchased a new $2bn aggregate catastrophe reinsurance cover as well as a new international cat treaty and made other notable structural changes - signalling a shift under new CEO Brian Duperreault towards laying off more risk to reinsurers.

Zurich Municipal was the most prolific supplier of UK public sector insurance in 2017, according to analysis of local government insurance data by research company Tussell.

Public organisations in the UK are buying more terrorism insurance, research by Tussell has found.

So much, then, for the cat-driven hard market in 2018. And if the industry has been disappointed with the rate response in cat-exposed business to date, we would offer caution to anyone hanging their hat on better pricing in casualty as a source of optimism for the market as a whole.

December losses from the California wildfires are likely to put a sizeable dent in US P&C fourth quarter earnings, according to JP Morgan analyst Sarah DeWitt.

As equity analysts digested the disappointing renewal rates from 1 January, there was a growing sense that further price increases could be seen during the mid-year US renewals.

The rate increases in property direct and facultative business were one of the more headline-grabbing outcomes of what was perhaps a more muted 1.1 renewal season than anticipated.

Reinsurers are weighing up a complex position with a lot of moving parts as they start trying to assess their prospects for 2018.

Reinsurers were able to achieve modest rate increases on loss-free marine accounts at 1 January despite a growing consensus that third quarter cat losses had fallen short of early fears.

As the dust settles on the 1 January reinsurance renewals, further evidence has emerged of improving conditions for underwriters of US casualty and professional lines treaty business.

Property catastrophe reinsurance renewal pricing came in below the levels hoped for by reinsurers, as the relative attractiveness of the class for traditional players and the efficiency of the ILS funds in reloading dampened post-loss rate rises.

"I've been down so goddamn long that it looks like up to me." So sang Jim Morrison on the Doors' last studio album LA Woman.

The commercial insurance market experienced a market-changing year in 2017 that should drive a broad turn in pricing, according to Sompo International global insurance CEO Jack Kuhn.

After a mixed 1 January renewal for reinsurers, signs are emerging of improving prospects for underwriters in the US commercial insurance sector as traction begins to build slowly on pricing.

Steamship Mutual, Korean insurer Hanwha, and PICC all lead covers that have exposure to the major shipping accident at the weekend involving the Iranian oil tanker The Sanchi, The Insurance Insider understands.