Flood insurance reform bill re-tabled in U.S. congress
March 8, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterA bill aimed at increasing participation by the private sector in the flood insurance market in the United States was tabled Wednesday in the House of Representatives, a U.S. congressman from Florida announced. The Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization…
Combined ratio up 8 points for PartnerRe
February 23, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterPartnerRe Ltd., which has a Toronto branch office, reported an eight-point deterioration in its combined ratio, from 85.6% in 2015 to 93.6% in 2016, while the net loss in Q4 2016 was US$173.7 million. In addition to reinsurance, Hamilton, Bermuda-based…
Swiss Re reports 2016 net income of US$3.6 billion, P&C Re net income of US$2.1 billion
February 23, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterSwiss Re has reported full-year 2016 net income of US$3.6 billion, including Property & Casualty Reinsurance net income of US$2.1 billion. Swiss Re said that its net income in P&C Re was US$2.1 billion last year compared to US$3 billion…
Two U.S. dams illustrate challenge of maintaining older designs
February 22, 2017 Michael R. Blood - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSLOS ANGELES – Twelve years ago, widespread destruction from Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast helped compel federal engineers 2,000 miles away in California to remake a 1950s-era dam by constructing a massive steel-and-concrete gutter that would manage surging waters…
Combined ratio up 2 points for SCOR
February 22, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterParis-based reinsurer SCOR SE released Wednesday its latest financial results, reporting a combined ratio of 93.1% in 2016, up 2 points from 91.1% in 2015. The combined ratio in the most recent quarter was 93.3%, up 1.1 points from 92.2%…
Loss ratio up 1.4 points for Arch Capital
February 14, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterArch Capital Group Ltd. reported Monday a combined ratio of 99.4% in insurance during the last three months of 2016 due in part to Hurricane Matthew, while net favorable development, due in part to better than expected claims emergence in…
Combined ratio up three points for Markel
February 10, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterMarkel Corp. reported this week a 7.8% increase in net premiums written while the combined ratio deteriorated by three points in 2016 as the Richmond, Va.-based insurer experienced a $46.6-million underwriting loss related to Hurricane Matthew. Markel released Wednesday its…
Q4 combined ratio up 14.9 points at Aspen
February 9, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterWildfires in Tennessee, an earthquake in New Zealand, Hurricane Matthew and energy-related losses all contributed to a 20.2-point deterioration in the fourth-quarter loss ratio in reinsurance for Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd., while in primary insurance, Aspen reported a combined ratio…
Businesses need to ask how quickly stolen equipment can be replaced: Northbridge
February 8, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterTheft of equipment is one risk business owners should think about when planning for business continuity, Northbridge Insurance advised recently. “Crime can take many forms and affect businesses in different ways,” Toronto-based Northbridge noted in a blog post, titled Business…
Dozens injured in tornadoes across southern Louisiana
February 8, 2017 Kevin McGill - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSNEW ORLEANS – Brittany Ross remembers she was savoring the smell of her aunt’s simmering white beans when the storm that injured about 40 people in southeastern Louisiana hit. “The place started shaking, kind of twisting,” she said Tuesday as…
AXIS Capital reports net income of US$131 million for Q4 2016
February 6, 2017 by Canadian UnderwriterPembroke, Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has reported a net income available to common shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2016 of US$131 million, comparable to a net income of US$135 million for the fourth quarter of 2015. Net income…
Burlington, Airdrie city officials share lessons from 2014 weather disasters
February 2, 2017 Greg Meckbach, Associate EditorA rain storm in Burlington, Ont. during the summer of 2014 prompted officials from the upper tier of municipal government to take measures to address flood risk on homeowners’ properties, a speaker told insurance professionals at a conference Thursday. On…