November 2012/1

Willis Group CEO Joe Plumeri raised the bar for Superstorm Sandy loss expectations when he said that he expected the insured bill to be between $30bn and $50bn

Hannover Re has argued in a New York District Court that it should not be obliged to pay the $19mn reinsurance cover at the heart of a facultative property dispute with Allied World.

Barclays will be the first bank taken to court in the UK for Libor rate manipulation after a High Court judge found in favour of a care home operator and allowed the damages claim trial to proceed.

Lloyd's managing agents still have ground to cover on reporting standards under Solvency II and should keep up momentum despite the latest delays, said Paul Appleton, senior manager of Lloyd's Market Finance

(Re)insurers will be spared the full brunt of the losses from Hurricane Sandy by the intervention of the four decade-old National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Listed retrocession provider Catco says its 2012 returns could be reduced by up to 10-15 percent net if insured industry losses from Hurricane Sandy reach around $15bn.

Industry loss warranty (ILW) limits of between $50mn and $100mn could be on the line for a north-eastern US contract placed at a $10bn industry loss trigger, sister publication Trading Risk has reported.

The Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Price Index dropped by 2.5 percent to 93.27 last week (close 2 November), reflecting uncertainty in the secondary bond market over the impact of Superstorm Sandy.

US-listed (re)insurance stocks fell heavily last week after Hurricane Sandy lashed the north-east, causing insured losses that could reach $20bn, according to the latest estimates.

The reduction of exposure to north-east hurricane risk might be considered a significant early victory in the highly scrutinised tenure of recently appointed Axis CEO Albert Benchimol.

(Re)insurers have largely outperformed in the third quarter against Wall Street forecasts on the back of lower cats and higher-than-expected reserve releases that bolstered the bottom line.

The industry has now disclosed total crop claims of $795mn to date as a result of severe drought conditions in the US Midwest

There are not many drama students that rise to be a managing director of a £100m+ business - and especially not ones that didn't begin their current career until the tender age of 38.

The industry's view on the ultimate loss impact from Superstorm Sandy is undergoing a significant shift. At the time of landfall, the consensus was that it would be a relatively moderate event retained by insurers that would do little to alter downward pressure on property cat rates.

Superstorm Sandy could easily place high on the list of the most expensive hurricane losses for the insurance industry, as the rankings of the top 10 losses show.

A number of reinsurance losses crept into the industry losses from last year's Hurricane Irene, illustrating that the $10bn rule of thumb threshold for a hurricane becoming a reinsurance event is no safeguard.

The reduction of exposure to north-east hurricane risk might be considered a significant early victory in the highly scrutinised tenure of recently appointed Axis CEO Albert Benchimol.

As loss forecasts climb, more and more reinsurance programmes will engage. We analyse some of the more likely treaties to be triggered

Hurricane deductibles and business interruption (BI) covers are two key factors that will complicate loss estimates for Hurricane Sandy as the US north-east slowly begins the recovery process.

The US insurance giants are most exposed, The Insurance Insider's exclusive analysis reveals...

By the end of last week, the (re)insurance industry had realised that losses from Superstorm Sandy will be significantly higher than first anticipated for a modelled Category 1 hurricane striking the north-east US

Signs of sustained momentum for improvement in commercial P&C rates were a dominant theme in the third quarter earnings reports of US primary insurers, defying fears of a slowdown.

Traditional reinsurers need to step up to provide better solutions for clients looking to buy sideways cover to protect against frequency of loss, according to Aon Benfield chief strategy officer Bryon Ehrhart.

The investment reinsurance deal between Platinum Holdings and Third Point Re will provide Platinum with extra return for risk comparable to a fixed income deal, although the liquidity of the deal remains uncertain, Fitch Ratings associate director Christopher Grimes told The Insurance Insider.

Swiss Re is not keen on opening up its internal insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund to third party investors, according to reinsurance CEO for the EMEA region Jean-Jacques Henchoz.

A big energy risk excess programme and a significant Japanese pro rata treaty are the latest victims of Chartis's decision to rationalise its reinsurance spend, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Early signs suggest that the biggest single risk loss to emerge from Hurricane Sandy will be from the substantial property programme of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).

David Reed, the former managing director of Omega's managing agent, will become CEO of Scor's Lloyd's corporate member at the start of 2013, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Swiss Re intends to take the lion's share of the business net when Berkshire Hathaway's giant quota share cover expires at the end of the year, which would cause net written premium (NWP) to climb by around a quarter.

Former RSA CEO Andy Haste has joined Lloyd's as one of the Corporation's three deputy chairmen, serving an initial three-year term from 1 November.

New York and New Jersey insurance regulators swiftly followed Connecticut in warning that insurers will not be able to impose homeowners' hurricane deductibles when processing claims from Superstorm Sandy.

Aon Benfield has hired senior retro brokers Charlie Simpson and Chris McDowell from Guy Carpenter, The Insurance Insider understands

Hiscox CEO Bronek Masojada said he expects the firm's US division to continue to provide strong growth momentum in 2013 after the unit reported a 30 percent increase in gross written premiums for the first nine months of 2012.

Vast Canadian pension fund PSP is partnering with Lightyear Capital over its $350mn investment in broking house Cooper Gay, The Insurance Insider understands.

In this sector we instinctively know that things always revert to the mean in the long run.

There is growing confidence among reinsurers that the impact of Superstorm Sandy will return upwards pressure to the dynamics of property cat pricing ahead of the key 1 January renewals.