September 2012/3

Robust performance at the reinsurance arms of the global brokers has helped drive results in the sector and provided a positive upside despite challenging economic conditions.

Three major Chinese carriers are understood to be offering quota share capacity to Lloyd's as the market looks to secure its capital ahead of the November coming-into-line date, The Insurance Insider can reveal

A combination of low catastrophe losses and an improving pricing environment in many business lines has helped the (re)insurance sector deliver a strong performance in the equity markets so far in 2012.

Novae Re is sending an "unambiguous signal" that the business is in "rude health" despite the 20-strong walk-out by its senior executives and underwriters this summer

2011 cats provoke losses but also fresh cat appetite, increased rates and reinstatement premiums

The surfeit of capital over-spilling from the reinsurance industry's coffers is partly illusory and is creating a false sense of balance sheet strength, a number of reinsurers and brokers have said

Willis Group is still expected to make a decision about the succession to its larger-than-life chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri this autumn, according to a number of sources close to the firm

The "conventional wisdom" that the best growth opportunities for the reinsurance market lie in emerging economies is flawed, according to Transatlantic Re CEO Mike Sapnar.

Willis Re CEO John Cavanagh has argued that if Lloyd's is to distinguish itself it must be an "entrepreneurial hotbed", with more dedicated underwriting platforms and a greater number of small start-ups from dynamic young underwriters.

It was a quieter Monte Carlo than usual, in part because of the fireworks at The Insurance Insider's 2011 MC Roundtable. But this just demonstrates how robust the industry's balance sheets are

Reinsurers were publicly talking a good game about rate prospects while brokers were being unnaturally circumspect. But in private discussions it appears likely that rate increases for short-tail lines in 2013 will be as rare as a friendly Monaco taxi driver...