TD Insurance has become the first ever Canadian insurer to sponsor a catastrophe bond focused solely on perils within the country after the Toronto-based firm secured C$150mn ($105mn) of multi-year coverage from the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to negative from stable on the A (strong) insurer financial strength ratings of Mercury General's property casualty operating subsidiaries, in response to the potential for further catastrophes to follow the Los Angeles wildfires.

RLI reported a 3 percent drop in property premium during Q4 as increased competition from MGAs impacted market conditions, while the carrier revealed it secured its largest ever property reinsurance placement at 1.1 which benefitted from rate reductions of 10 to 20 percent.

Karen Clark & Company has estimated that insured losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires will be close to $28bn.

MGA Descartes Underwriting has developed a new parametric tornado insurance product for US solar farms, with payouts based on the proportion of the surface area that has been shown to have been damaged by satellite imagery.

Verisk has estimated insured losses from the Palisades and Eaton wildfires at between $28bn and $35bn, which includes losses to the California Fair Plan.

Travelers secured $150mn of additional limit on its $4bn xs $2bn cat excess-of-loss reinsurance placement at 1 January, but management said that while ongoing California wildfires will have a “material” impact on Q1 earnings and contribute to its aggregate deductible, they are not expected to lead to recoveries under the treaty.

Natural disasters generated global public and private market insured losses of $145bn in 2024, the sixth highest tally on record and more than 50 percent above the 21st century average, according to Aon.

The impending assessment from California’s insurer of last resort, the Fair Plan, will not affect most property casualty (re)insurers’ ratings but “ will likely lead to increased premiums or reduced coverage availability in the private market”, Fitch Ratings has commented.

Gallagher Re has pegged total insured losses from natural catastrophe events in 2024 at $154bn, of which public/government-sponsored insurers covered nearly $20bn.