Opinion

Could 1.1 be a flat cat reinsurance renewal in the US?

And so, the Lloyd’s market can finally draw a line under what has been a gruelling few months of performance review and forward planning.

Parades of partners filing out of the Big Four accountancy firms after inappropriate behaviour, a visionary retailer whose signature greeting is a hug if you’re lucky – or a gentle nibble on the ear lobe if you’re not, an even bigger rag-trade titan named in the UK parliament.

In the journey to create a new asset class, there are many staging posts that have to be passed.

With (re)insurers once again facing record California wildfire claims, the question now is this: what is the balance between recouping their losses and ensuring they don't jeopardise their clients' futures?

Often, when I discuss the industry that I work in with friends who have limited exposure to insurance, I receive one of two responses.

Here is an opinion that is likely to be popular with many readers but I think is nonetheless true. Many insurance companies in the US are not buying enough catastrophe reinsurance for the risks they are taking.

The asset manager retains powerful advocates but fundraising is likely to prove challenging.

Just how important is Markel Catco to the catastrophe reinsurance market?

Will underwriting as we know it survive the digital industrial revolution that the world is currently undergoing?

It’s clear why Whac-a-Mole is both an arcade classic and the go-to metaphor for a situation where a thorny problem is displaced rather than solved.

Even the best-laid plans rarely survive the briefest of exposures to harsh reality. Insurance is a case in point.