Insurance Rate News

Reinsurance market tightening and loss ratio deterioration are two factors fueling momentum in cyber rates.

Moody’s expects RMS, which had about $320mn in revenue around $55mn in operating income last year, to become accretive to earnings by 2025.

The underwriting profits within the carrier’s US operations narrowed to $25mn, after higher economic activity and attritional claims caused margins to tighten.

Adjusted for large renewals and IPOs, the pricing index rose 7.7% in the second quarter.

RenRe CEO Kevin O’Donnell said cyber reinsurance rates were two fifths higher in Q2 than during the same period last year.

Underwriters warned of a need to sustain profits and the risk of losses as plants are reactivated.

The broker said there were signs the downstream market was “topping out” after several years of major hardening.

International insurance broker Howden said rising ransomware losses represented a “digital pandemic” that have helped to drive average global cyber insurance rates up 32% year-on-year.

Reinsurance rate increases are tapering off, but the recent influx of capacity will not cause pricing to “fall off a cliff” thanks to continuing market discipline, according to Willis Re’s James Vickers.

Carriers also reported premium expansion and improved solvency during the quarter.

The London market has seen a marked slowdown in specialty insurance rates year-on-year, in the latest evidence that the recent upswing in rates is starting to lose steam after three years of acceleration.

The level of price increases was lower than the 10% rise reported in the fourth quarter of 2020.