A new briefing from A.M. Best states that it does not expect an increase in rating downgrades, according to a briefing. The briefing states that while current estimates set the insured losses at between GBP 750 million and GBP 1.2 billion, A.M. Best expects insurers to withstand these losses, with little effect...
Total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were USD 140 billion in 2013, according to the latest sigma study by Swiss Re. Of the 2013 insured losses, USD 37 billion were generated by natural catastrophes, with hail in Europe and floods in many regions being the main drivers....
Banco do Brasil e Mapfre stated recently that the country has set a new record of crop insurance claims from December of last year. Since then, 2,000 claims were made generating payments totaling nearly USD117 million to approximately 5,000 farmers. The main reason attributed to the record is the drought...
The Lloyds of London insurance market has seen a 14 percent rise in profits for 2013 to GBP3.2 billion. The results are the first since Lloyds appointed Inga Beale to be its new chief executive. The London market saw GWP reach GBP26.1 billion, rising from GBP25.5 billion last year. The figures...
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) announced the launch of its Global Casualty Single Solution (GCSS), a new product to cover cross-border casualty risks for US-based multinational companies. The product is designed for middle market businesses with up to USD700 million in annual revenue. With GCSS, brokers can access on behalf...
XL Group announced that XL Reinsurance America Inc., a subsidiary of XL Group plc has acquired Global Ag Insurance Services, a crop insurance provider based in the western United States. The two companies initially partnered in 2011 to deliver crop insurance solutions to western specialty crop producers and growers through...
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) reported a business operating profit (BOP) of USD4.7 billion and net income attributable to shareholders of USD4 billion for the year ended December 31, 2013. “We delivered a solid operating profit in all core businesses, with good growth in priority General Insurance and Global Life markets,...
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, recently launched its new satellite-based catastrophe evaluation service, GC CAT-VIEWSM, with the announcement that it has started using the service to provide clients affected by the recent UK floods with initial insured loss estimates. The new service, which is provided through an exclusive partnership with...
Insurers are aiming to transform the way in which natural disasters are modelled with a groundbreaking system of their own as the industry tries to scale back reliance on outside specialists that critics warn exert undue influence on premiums. The new venture, which 22 insurance groups including Allianz, Zurich and the Lloyd’s...
A heady cocktail of converging factors has fuelled a soft buyers’ market in nearly all lines of business at the January 1 renewals, according to the First View Renewals Report from Willis Re. Challenges faced by both traditional reinsurers and new capacity are myriad, according to the report. These include...
