September 2017/4

The London market must be ready to fail if it is to become an industry that is innovative, efficient and addresses the evolving demands of customers, panellists said during the London InsurTech conference last week.

Certain benefits from the covered agreement signed on 22 September by US and EU officials may be a long time in coming, as full implementation may take five years.

The Kilimanjaro Re series of cat bonds sponsored by Everest Re are among a dozen insurance-linked securities (ILS) deals exposed to losses incurred by Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane on 20 September.

Axa Seguros is the largest writer of earthquake cover in Mexico, followed by Seguros Banorte Generali and Seguros Inbursa, according to data from AM Best.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager Markel Catco has warned that combined losses from hurricanes Harvey and Irma have the potential to fully erode its annual returns "or more" for 2017.

UK carriers looking to establish EU subsidiaries for Brexit face less room for manoeuvre after the European Commission (EC) issued plans to bolster the bloc's financial regulators at the expense of national watchdogs.

Investors in InsurTech are generally more comfortable with the MGA model for underwriting start-ups rather than balance sheet businesses, according to some leading venture capital firms.

US credit bureau Equifax may burn through its entire cyber insurance limit following a September data breach that affected 148 million customers.

Toby Esser's start-up Next Generation has closed its acquisition of a majority stake in London-based wholesale and retail broker AFL.

There is one key factor that will continue to drive insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers' expansion in the primary insurance market: the much bigger size of the opportunity compared to the more niche reinsurance industry.

US wholesale giant CRC Group has launched an alternative capital-backed quota share property facility fronted by Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Low penetration rates, improved building regulations and the location of the epicentres mean that insured losses from Mexico's recent earthquakes are expected to remain relatively low, according to market sources.

Lloyd's syndicates have emerged as the largest writer of non-life reinsurance in Puerto Rico, analysis from The Insurance Insider has shown.

Hurricane Maria promises to bring a significant commercial loss that will impact some of the industry's major international players, but the Puerto Rican domestic market is dominated by a cadre of relatively small local carriers that buy a significant amount of reinsurance.

US wholesale broking giant CRC Insurance Services has cut its panel of London market wholesale intermediaries to a small handful, The Insurance Insider understands.

Sometimes I think the reinsurance market is like an old prize fighter reduced to being an attraction at a travelling fair.

AIR Worldwide's $40bn-$85bn insured loss range for Hurricane Maria provides further evidence - as if it were needed - of the capacity of the 2017 hurricane season to surprise.

As carriers and their reinsurers continue to piece together the claims picture from Harvey and Irma, anecdotal evidence is beginning to point to significant losses emerging from the larger coastal MGAs.