May 2017/3

Under the unforgiving light of quarterly reporting it is sometimes difficult for management to express the long-term goals and needs of a company.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is set to raise more than $900mn of reinsurance cover from its latest Ursa Re cat bond, in the insurance-linked securities market's third mega-sized deal of the year

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

The Insider 50 was hit last week by heavy drops in dollar-denominated stocks, with the losses slightly offset by growth in the UK.

Specialty insurer Neon is considering setting up an insurance-linked securities fund that would help support its growing property catastrophe book, sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.

Operating returns on equity (RoEs) declined in the first quarter for US specialty insurers, as one-off Ogden impacts and increased core loss ratios eroded bottom lines.

Combined ratios were up across the board for US specialty insurers in the first quarter, as loss ratios inflated due to lower reserve releases and weaker underlying performances.

The pace of top line growth among the listed US specialty carriers slowed to 4.3 percent in the first quarter of the year.

WannaCry Hack; AmTrust fee business; Aviation rates; Miles Smith backer; Zurich legacy sale; Catalina strategic process; Grossman at Sovag and AG broker sale.

Brexit, regulation and promising Rhode Island legislation dominated the agenda of the annual Insurance and Reinsurance Legacy Association Congress (Irla) last week.

Today's soft market is the norm rather than the exception, according to BB&T Insurance chairman and CEO John Howard, who sees it as a key force in industry consolidation.

Reinsurers that embrace the wave of InsurTech initiatives could see significant growth opportunities, according to panellists at The Insurance Insider's InsiderScope event last week.

Small commercial and lower mid-market insurance will be the segments most impacted by InsurTech initiatives, according to senior executives speaking in New York last week.

While everyone is agreed that there's no end in sight for UK broker consolidation - there are still 3,000 of them all after all - the days of 13x-15x Ebitda could be numbered.

Rising regulatory requirements, succession issues and pressures on margins are driving the recent consolidation wave in UK broking businesses, according to sources.

Under the unforgiving light of quarterly reporting it is sometimes difficult for management to express the long-term goals and needs of a company.

Lloyd's insurer Novae has said it will focus on classes in which it is an established leader to drive an underwriting turnaround following a succession of profit warnings that have led to a negative re-rating of the carrier's shares.

It's no wonder it took AIG so long to confirm rumours Brian Duperreault would become its next CEO when one looks at the deal that was required to release the executive from his contract with Hamilton whilst ensuring the future viability of the firm he founded.

Brian Duperreault had quite a payday on Sunday (14 May) and if all goes right for the veteran CEO, he stands to make $110mn within four years.

Cost-cutting measures - and, most emotively, headcount reductions - are all too often viewed through a negative lens.

Equity analysts gave Aon's first quarter results and restructuring moves a largely warm response last week by raising forward earnings estimates and pricing targets for the company's stock.

Two years ago, English football (soccer, if you must) team Chelsea won the Premier League title - the UK equivalent of the Super Bowl.

New AIG CEO Brian Duperreault has chosen to waive the period of grace normally granted to a new leader of a beleaguered business by using his first day to set out a strategic vision for the insurance giant's future.