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.

The battle lines are being drawn in Asia between reinsurers and cedants ahead of the 1 January renewals, as the sector continues to come to terms with the remarkable string of third quarter cat losses.

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

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.

As third quarter cat loss disclosures roll in with the earnings season, a discussion is heating up in the market about whether recent events will generate the $100bn industry loss sources had been coalescing around.

The third quarter could still go down as the costliest in the (re)insurance industry's history, with almost all the companies to report so far dragged to a loss and a significant portion of the sector's excess capital wiped out.

XL Catlin is set to pay a higher coupon for a $150mn top-up to its cat bond cover as it agreed pricing terms on a new Galileo Re insurance-linked securities (ILS) transaction last week, Trading Risk reported.

(Re)insurers within The Insurance Insider's coverage universe have overwhelmingly exceeded expectations in third quarter disclosures to date.

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.

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.

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.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) is preparing to enter the Dubai insurance market, The Insurance Insider understands.

Independent wholesaler Keating has expanded its senior executive team with two high-level hires and restructured its platform to drive further growth, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

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

Lloyd's is aiming to secure regulatory approval for Brussels-based Lloyd's Insurance Company early next year and believes it has widespread market backing for the structure of its post-Brexit subsidiary.

Markel Catco Investment Management has raised more than $1.8bn in the reinsurance market's biggest ever one-off fundraising effort, which it said would enable it to fund its 1 January-renewing portfolio.

Qatar Re's Dubai-based head of marine will move to lead operations in Singapore following three departures in the recently licensed office, The Insurance Insider understands.

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

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.

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.

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.

Losses sustained by Caribbean insurer Nagico during hurricanes Irma and Maria have not dented the allure of the business for 50 percent owner Peak Re.

WKFC Underwriting has launched a new property consortium with a quartet of high-profile carriers offering up to $100mn of combined limit, The Insurance Insider can reveal.