May 2011/3

After a month of extreme tornado activity the US, cat-watch focus is now on flooding, as the Mississippi River rose near record levels set during the 1927 and 1937 floods.

Modelling firm Eqecat says loss amplification from the Fukushima nuclear incident is the highest single contributor to its upgraded loss forecast for the Japanese earthquake.

Sagicor falls to Q1 loss on Lloyd's cats; Allianz fails to shine; RSA posts Q1 growth

Lloyd's stalwarts Amlin and Catlin surprised investors last week with interim management statements highlighting fast growth from their newly formed Swiss reinsurance operations.

Japan loss estimates are likely to rise significantly in the coming weeks and months as Zenkyoren's loss notification makes itself felt, according to Stifel Nicolaus.

The cost of insuring debt on leading reinsurers has begun to taper off after a small spike that followed the Japanese earthquake.

A trio of US equities analysts has endorsed the now near unanimous view that reinsurers are achieving some rate increases, but were sceptical about the breadth and the length of this hard market.

The cycle has reached a point where reserve releases are no longer masking poor underwriting results stemming from declining rates and rising claims, according to Stifel Nicolaus analysts.

Arthur J Gallagher International has closed its long-running takeover of UK broker Heath Lambert, a move which will catapult the group into the top ten UK insurance brokers by revenue, leapfrogging fellow London-based peer Lockton.

Aon founder Pat Ryan is sanguine about being treated differently by Lloyd's as he is poised to become the first broker to own a syndicate in almost 30 years.

Despite the flurry of international and US catastrophe losses the industry is still awash with excess capital and those anticipating an imminent turn could be in for a long wait.

Florida property catastrophe reinsurance rates are expected to increase by 10 to 15 percent at mid-year renewal, according to TigerRisk CEO Rod Fox.