Casualty

Amwins Global Risks boosts London operations with Johnson and Ritson hires

Amwins Global Risks, the rebranded Lloyd’s wholesale broker formerly known as THB Group, has added Phil Johnson and Mark Ritson to its London-based team.

US casualty quota shares – striking a balance

Less than two years ago talk in the US casualty and professional liability reinsurance market was of building momentum for improved terms for reinsurers, as the upwards march of cede commissions that had begun to be halted 18 months earlier was beginning to reverse on a number of deals.

Casualty treaty buyers shift from QS to XoL to capture surging US underlying rates

Casualty reinsurance buyers are increasingly looking to downsize quota shares to retain more business and benefit from strong underlying rate rises, while some carriers including Arch are following AIG’s lead by pushing up cede commissions and adding excess of loss (XoL) coverage instead, The Insurer can reveal.

RPS adds Chauhan from Hylant as casualty EVP

Aashish “AC” Chauhan has joined the Chicago office of the brokerage division of Risk Placement Services (RPS) as executive vice president of casualty.

SiriusPoint hires RFIB’s Hallett as casualty SVP

SiriusPoint has named Larry Hallett as senior vice president of casualty underwriting, with the new hire joining from RFIB Americas.

WTW: lead umbrella and excess liability rates less volatile

Lead umbrella and excess liability – areas of the US commercial insurance market that have been among the hardest over the last two years – are beginning to show signs of a deceleration in rate increases and reduced volatility at renewal, according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW).

Hiscox brings in Hamilton’s Patten to bolster casualty unit

Hamilton’s Lloyd’s head of casualty Robert (Bob) Patten has followed a trio of liability colleagues to the exit door, taking on a role at Hiscox following an exodus from the London-listed carrier’s general liability unit, The Insurer can reveal.

Axis Re builds out Lloyd’s casualty treaty unit with Hiscock hire

Axis Capital has hired Lisa Hiscock as a senior underwriter, Lloyd’s casualty for its global markets team.

Berkshire Hathaway swoops on CV Starr for energy liability underwriter Wang

CV Starr has parted ways with Penny Wang, with the energy casualty underwriter expected to take on a similar role at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, The Insurer understands.

Cloutier: Capital markets key to Aspen’s specialty (re)insurance strategy

Aspen Capital Markets (ACM) is playing an increasingly important role as a vehicle to transform cat and non-cat risk in its Bermudian parent’s continued drive to improve its performance as a specialty insurer and reinsurer, according to group CEO Mark Cloutier.

Willis Re: Cyber reinsurance rates up 25-40% at 1 April

Although 1 April is not a major renewal date for the wider casualty reinsurance market, global cyber rates for excess of loss treaties with loss emergence priced up by as much as 40 percent, according to Willis Re.

London’s leading cyber and casualty underwriters revealed in new poll

Brit Global Specialty’s Ben Maidment has regained the number one position in the Gracechurch Leading London Underwriters Cyber Ranking, The Insurer can reveal.

Allied World’s Cellura: Significant liability issues arising out of Texas freeze

Joe Cellura, president of North American casualty at Allied World, has noted the liability issues emerging from the Texas winter storms, while other casualty executives expect pricing momentum to continue despite “glimmers of competition” from new entrants.

Swiss Re’s Jones takes over as North America casualty head

Brian Jones has taken on the role of head of casualty underwriting for North America at Swiss Re, a move that follows the departure of Mike Hudzik to Munich Re late last year.

Excess casualty E&S entrants are tempering rate increases: AmWINS

The steep ascent of casualty excess and surplus lines (E&S) pricing will slow this year as new capacity continues to temper rates and many accounts enter their second renewal cycle of large increases, AmWINS believes.

BHSI hires MSIG’s Neumann as Germany casualty head

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has named Mathias Neumann as head of casualty in Germany, with the executive joining from MSIG Insurance Europe.

RPS hires WTW’s Harvey as casualty EVP

Risk Placement Services (RPS), the wholesale subsidiary of Arthur J Gallagher, has hired Jeff Harvey from Willis Towers Watson as executive vice president of casualty for its brokerage division.

Swiss Re “surprised” by bullish casualty market as cuts exposures 55% at 1.1

Swiss Re was “surprised” by the muted price rises it witnessed at 1 January across its casualty portfolio, however the “nominal” uptick facilitated the de-risking of its book, group CEO Christian Mumenthaler has said.

Argo’s Q4 submissions up 25% for casualty and over 50% for inland marine

Argo Group CEO Kevin Rehnberg has pointed to strong rate increases and “encouraging submission trends”, including submission increases of 25 percent in casualty and over 50 percent in inland marine, as reasons for optimism for growth for the Bermudian company in 2021.