Issues

Global insurance M&A rose 16 percent last year to $57bn according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW) Securities.

The broad shape of the 1 January renewals is now clear. And although there is a bull case to be made around casualty and an uptick in elements of primary pricing, the outcome is broadly disappointing for a reinsurance market still disproportionately reliant on property to make money.

AIG bought a new $2bn aggregate catastrophe cover and a new international catastrophe treaty at 1 January as it followed through on a commitment to lay off more risk to the reinsurance market, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Reinsurers look unlikely to achieve a meaningful correction in US property catastrophe reinsurance pricing at 1 January, but will be able to point to a better than expected casualty renewal.

It is a universal rule of cinema that movie sequels are always worse than the original.

Reinsurance pricing reflects market fundamentals. And that is the story of this renewal to date.

In common with their property cat colleagues, US casualty reinsurance underwriters are suffering a late 1 January renewal, with most deals still awaiting firm order terms as of early December.

Casualty reinsurers are talking about brokers and clients taking a more "realistic" approach to dynamics in a sector where margins have been squeezed to the point of being unsustainable on many quota share deals.

Florida's state-backed insurer is preparing for a challenging 2018 that will see ongoing profitability pressures from assignment of benefits (AOB)-driven non-weather losses and an increase in reinsurance costs.

Reading external budget documents is unlikely to be high on the to-do list for reinsurers and brokers entering the frenetic last couple of weeks of a 1.1 renewal season that has run late and proved challenging.

The London property binders market is resisting rate decreases on US business at renewal in the wake of losses from the North Atlantic hurricanes.

Ogden rate uncertainty is giving reinsurers ammunition on motor excess of loss (XoL) renewals after intervention from a committee of lawmakers threatened to delay promised reforms.