October 2017/1

A QBE spokesperson confirmed that 2017 catastrophe losses are expected to exhaust its $900mn aggregate reinsurance programme, which is understood to be written by Berkshire Hathaway.

Concern is mounting in the market that Nagico, the dominant insurer in the Dutch Caribbean, will shoot through the top of its reinsurance programme after St Maarten was devastated by Hurricane Irma.

As insurers and their reinsurers continue the challenging task of assessing HIM exposures, there is anecdotal evidence that US property underwriters are beginning to demand rate increases at renewal.

A long-term decline in non-fatal workplace accidents and injuries combined with improving loss experience helped workers' compensation carriers to greater profitability last year as premiums climbed to a record $58.5bn

Data provider Property Claim Services (PCS) has issued an initial estimate for Hurricane Irma insured losses in US territories of $18.03bn, The Insurance Insider has reported

Catastrophe modelling firms have failed to reach a consensus on the impact of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, as carriers attempt to count the cost of a fast-moving claims situation

With the third quarter now in the books and (re)insurers obliged to quantify their losses for investors during reporting season, a number have started to pre-announce their expected share of the glut of cat losses.

Downstream energy losses this year were approaching $2.85bn even before the recent run of Atlantic hurricanes, according to the latest energy report from JLT Specialty.

Competition among InsurTech start-ups to join so-called accelerators is keen, with 10 of the market's most high-profile firms receiving more than 8,500 applications to join their programmes, according to a report from Celent and Guy Carpenter.

Cyber has taken the prime spot as the most important emerging risk for underwriters, according to an International Underwriting Association (IUA) poll of its members

Pool Re has rejigged its reinsurance offer for its members to help close a protection gap for political violence cover among small and medium-sized enterprises

Uncertainty over the cost of hurricanes Irma and Maria has put the brakes on the recovery of the secondary cat bond market, which had initially rebounded.