Hiscox reports 94.9% CR as profits triple at full yearBlue chip Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox saw pre-tax profits triple at full year 2018 with its London market business the standout performer which returned to growth and profit despite the spate of costly third and fourth quarter natural catastrophes.
Sirius pegs Jebi insured market loss at over $10bnBermudian (re)insurer Sirius reported a significantly higher combined ratio in the fourth quarter as it took Hurricane Michael and California wildfire losses and added $43mn to its Typhoon Jebi reserves.
$300mn cat losses contribute to Alleghany Q4 earnings missCatastrophe losses have increased the fourth quarter combined ratio in Alleghany’s (re)insurance operations to 119.1 percent in 2018 from 89.1 percent in same period of 2017.
Wildfire-struck CIG agrees sale to Auto-Owners InsuranceCapital Insurance Group’s pending sale to Auto-Owners Insurance comes after a sharp decline in surplus at California-based CIG in the last two years driven by wildfire losses.
ILS investors seek rate hardening after costly H2 2018: Swiss Re2018 marked the second-highest year of ILS issuance volume on record, but investors will now seek rate hardening after another costly cat year, according to Swiss Re.
Suncorp to buy additional A$200mn natural perils coverSuncop will buy an additional A$200mn ($143mn) in natural perils reinsurance cover at its 1 July 2019 renewal as it looks for further protection around its main cat and aggregate structures after blowing its budget for losses.
ILS scepticism growing as 20% of third-party capital remains trapped: AM BestILS fund managers are for the first time struggling to attract new investors and retain existing ones. A new AM Best reinsurance report reveals 20 percent of the 2018 total third-party capital is trapped in the funds, which is making third-party investors sceptical about the market.
TMK's flagship syndicate facing 2017 loss of up to £165mnTokio Marine Kiln has said that its flagship Lloyd’s syndicate 510 is expecting the return on its £1.13bn capacity to run to a loss of between 9.6 percent and 14.6 percent for 2017 year of account.
California considers disaster response insuranceCalifornia’s insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara is behind a proposal that could see the wildfire-ravaged state buy insurance to pay for disaster response costs related to catastrophic events.
Tokio Marine’s European and reinsurance units return to blackJapanese giant Tokio Marine’s reinsurance and European businesses both returned to a profit in the first nine months of 2018.
AIG shares plunge 9% on Q4 lossAIG shares were trading down close to 9 percent in New York this morning as investors reacted negatively to a big Q4 2018 earnings miss.
AIG’s $365mn reserve charge contributes to big Q4 missAIG shares were down more than 3 percent in after hours trading in response to the insurer reporting an adjusted after-tax loss of $559mn, or $0.63 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018.
Assurant cuts cat XoL retention by a third after lossesUS insurer Assurant has lowered the per-event retention on its 2019 catastrophe reinsurance programme from $120mn to $80mn after consecutive years of cat losses.
Maiden faces class action lawsuit over AmTrust relationshipA class action lawsuit has been launched against Maiden Holdings alleging the reinsurer and some of its former officers misled investors over underwriting and risk management controls relating to its reinsurance of AmTrust.
Everest Re slides to Q4 loss on heavy catsEverest Re has fallen to a fourth quarter operating loss largely driven by heavy cat losses in the period.
CNA misses as cat losses and investment returns hit Q4 profitsUS insurer CNA Financial has revealed a fourth-quarter net loss of $84mn. Its core loss per share of $0.08 - a core loss of $23mn - was a big miss from the mean estimate of six analysts surveyed by MarketWatch of $0.82 earnings per share.
Mapfre’s earnings shed 25% as goodwill writedown hits bottom lineMapfre saw its earnings fall nearly 25 percent in 2018 as catastrophe losses, currency depreciation and a massive prior year goodwill writedown negatively impacted results but the Spanish (re)insurer received praise from analysts for its underlying performance.
Talanx hits reduced Eur700mn target despite industrial lossGerman (re)insurer Talanx has reported a net income of Eur703mn ($798mn) in 2018, marginally ahead of its Eur700mn target it revised downwards in October.
Munich Re profits halve in fourth quarter as nat cats take tollReinsurance giant Munich Re has reported a profit of Eur238mn ($270.9mn) in the fourth quarter of 2018, down 56 percent from the same period in 2017.