The total insured property losses for 2005 are estimated at a record US$50.3 billion, a figure that the Insurance Services Office Inc.’s Property Claims Services (PCS) ivision recently reported was bolstered by the US$6.1 billion in insured property damage incurred…
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were “insurance-market-changing” events that many US insurers say will return property insurance rates to their 2003 levels, according to a white paper released by Marsh & McLennan Cos.“Catastrophe rate increases are ranging from 10% to more…
Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. will incur a loss of $120 million before tax due to the effects of Hurricane Wilma.This represents an anticipated preliminary estimate that includes an estimated $35 million in gross losses that resulted from storm damage in…
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has taken Transatlantic Reinsurance Co. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Putnam Reinsurance Company and Trans ReZurich, off CreditWatch with negative implications and downgraded the company’s rating from an ‘AA’ to an ‘AA-‘.Standard & Poor’s said the…
AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd [NYSE:AXS] has sold 6.8 million of its common shares at $29.42 per share to Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking, raising aggregate proceeds of approximately $US200 million.Citigroup bought the shares from AXIS Capital and subsequently reoffered the…
In order to attain additional protection against Western Europe windstorm losses, Munich Reinsurance Co. recently placed catastrophe bonds worth $129.9 million.The bonds are meant to complement the Company’s existing retrocessional reinsurance program, according to Thomas Blunck, a management board member…
New legislation aimed at providing a legal recourse for a child who sustains prenatal injuries as the result of the negligent driving of his or her mother was introduced November 15 in the Alberta Legislature.Current law already allows a child…
Capital Markets Subcommittee Chairman Richard H. Baker tecently introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act for at least two years. The bill will increase the deductibles on all lines of insurance…
The Co-operators and the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) are warning of frauds designed to profit from the damage Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have wrought in the southern United States. “As a result of the recent natural disasters in the…
Arch Capital Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACGL) predicts its after-tax earnings for the 2005 fourth quarter will take a US$40-million to $60-million hit because of Hurricane Wilma.The estimate is based on industry insured losses of $8 to $12 billion and is…
The quality and completeness of most insurers’ commercial policy data is insufficient for a detailed and accurate assessment of their catastrophe risk, according to a recent analysis of insurers’ exposure data by risk modeling company AIR Worldwide Corporation (AIR). “Nine…
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has placed its ‘AA-‘ long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings on Hannover Rckversicherung-AG and its core entities on CreditWatch with negative implications. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s placed its ‘A+’ long-term…