October 2017/5

Asia Capital Re (ACR)'s board will not reopen the sales process that led to its $1bn abortive deal with Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings and Shenzhen Investment Holdings, The Insurance Insider understands.

Third quarter results revealed widespread shrinking in reserve releases, with the majority of carriers that have reported so far posting a decline in favourable prior-year development relative to their respective premium bases.

As growing loss ratios continued to pressure underwriting margins, third quarter results so far have revealed that (re)insurers turned to expense management to improve their results, while reduced variable compensation also came to the rescue.

P&C (re)insurers reported yet another quarter of deteriorating underlying margins, as third quarter accident-year ex-cat loss ratios rose by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year on a simple average basis at the companies under our coverage that have reported so far.

P&C (re)insurers in our coverage group that have reported third quarter results so far have revealed strong top-line increases, with around half of their gross written premiums (GWP) growth rates well up into double-digit territory.

With the recent hurricane season producing one of the costliest third quarters in history, underwriting profits have, unsurprisingly, been absent from Q3 earnings disclosures.

French state-owned reinsurer CCR Re is looking for strategic industry partners and would consider exchanging equity stakes with supporters following its operational carve-out early this year from parent CCR

Senior insurance executives and underwriters in Baden-Baden were expecting a North Atlantic-hurricane-induced rate increase to spread even into unaffected specialty lines, after years of margin compression in sectors including marine, energy and aviation.

Ivan Chan, ArgoGlobal Asia's CEO, has left the firm, The Insurance Insider understands.

Contrary to the popular mythology that journalists are fuelled by an almost exclusive diet of hard liquor, we scribes actually function on a steady stream of tea and coffee.

A number of Lloyd's syndicates are set to take advantage of propitious pricing conditions next year with significant planned increases in stamp capacity, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

After years of malaise, the (re)insurance market may finally be facing a sea change following heavy third quarter catastrophe losses, as underwriting executives scramble to talk up rates.