Topic Catastrophes
January renewals show “tale of two markets”
January 20, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterJanuary renewals in the United States and Europe are telling a “tale of two markets,” according to Grahame Millwater, the chairman and CEO of Willis Re, who was quoted in the recent edition of A.M. BestWeek.A.M. Best notes in the…
S&P’s takes Hannover Re off CreditWatch
January 20, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterStandard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Hannover Rckversicherung-AG and its core entities – collectively Hannover Re – and removed them from CreditWatch, where they had been placed with negative implications…
Protection against the scourge of pirates
January 17, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterLloyd’s is offering shipowners a new type of kidnap and ransom insurance, following rising levels of piracy attacks around the globe.Specialist intermediary Seacurus and Lloyd’s broker Cooper Gay have launched CrewSEACURE, a new type of marine cover underwritten within Lloyd’s.Captain…
SCOR selects new cat modeler
January 17, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe international reinsurer SCOR recently chose EQECAT Inc.’s WORLDCATenterprise catastrophe management software for the assessment of catastrophe risks in 88 countries.“SCOR, like many other insurers and reinsurers, has gone through a re-evaluation of catastrophe models after the last two turbulent…
Insurers must debate weather-related losses: Lloyd’s chairman
January 13, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe insurance industry must “face up to the growth in weather-related losses over the past four decades,” and lead debate about whether future weather-related catastrophes will be insurable, Lloyd’s chairman Lord Levene says.He made his remarks in a Jan. 11…
Insurers failed responding to Katrina, study says
January 12, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterMany insurance companies were ill-equipped in their response to Hurricane Katrina, exhibiting patterns of callousness, unfairness, and generally inept performance, according to a report recently released by the Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR), which is a coalition of public interest…
Benfield 2006 forecast better than expected
January 12, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterDespite unprecedented industry losses in 2004 and 2005, Benfield Group Limited is forecasting a more encouraging financial outlook for 2006 than previously expected.“The full impact of the unprecedented losses of 2004 and 2005, like that of previous major losses, will…
Demand for political risk coverage to increase in 2006
January 11, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterDemand for political risk coverage will increase in 2006, Aon predicts, based on trends identified in the company’s Political and Economic Risk Map. Published recently, Aon’s map suggests political interference poses the greatest threat to global businesses, followed by legal…
Aviation insurance drops despite death toll
January 10, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterAlthough passenger air flights have experienced a significant increase in fatalities 913 deaths in 2005, compared to 347 in 2004 insured losses will likely only increase a small amount, a recent report published by London-based Airclaims Ltd. notes.Western-built jets which…
Sea of change: Property and marine lines renewals
January 10, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterPricing of property and marine lines experienced major changes as a result of the record storm activity of 2005 however, casualty and accident and health lines were predominantly spared, according to Guy Carpenter & Company’s report titled “U.S. Reinsurance Renewals…
Catastrophic cause for P&C losses
January 9, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterThe U.S. P&C industry experienced an underwriting loss of US$2.8 billion through September 2005, down from the US$13.3 billion profit resulting from the first six-months of 2005 , according to a recent study by A.M. Best Co. Although the insurance…
Willis reports on reinsurance renewals
January 5, 2006 by Canadian UnderwriterWillis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH) recently released its reinsurance review of the marketplace for the January 1, 2006 renewals, which indicates key findings including rate movements and territory and class line commentary.The report, published by Willis Re, indicates that specialty lines…