Property reinsurance

Higher proposed Citizens budget includes new PLA placement

Citizens hopes to release firm order terms (FOTs) to reinsurers tomorrow after seeking board approval for a 10 percent uplift in its provisional 2019 risk transfer budget to a maximum of $110mn to include funding for its proposed $200mn personal lines account (PLA) cover.

Florida FOTs highlight differentiated market for reinsurance buying

Data points are emerging from the flurry of Florida firm order terms (FOTs) issued in the last few days that support the prediction of more moderate risk-adjusted price increases for carriers perceived by reinsurers as better-quality risks, The Insurer can reveal.

Retro “sunk cost” to temper Florida rate rises: KBW

KBW analyst Christopher Campbell has put out a note suggesting that Florida reinsurance rates are now on course to be up 10-20 percent with some “likely imperfect” variability by cedant.

How BI drove Jebi’s surprising loss creep

(Re)insurers’ first quarter results included another round of reserve increases for Typhoon Jebi. An analysis of their earnings calls reveals insight into Jebi’s unusually large loss creep.

Aon takes over as People’s Trust broker from COIN Re late in renewal

Aon has stepped in to place a significantly restructured reinsurance programme for People’s Trust after the Florida carrier parted company with start-up intermediary COIN Re mid-way through the renewal, The Insurer can reveal.

Frase and McKeon leave Willis Re for TigerRisk

Lindsey Frase and Brian McKeon are leaving Willis Re for TigerRisk as the Rod Fox-headed broker continues to build out its West Coast platform, The Insurer can reveal.

UPC shifts cat to QS and slashes open market reinsurance placement

As Florida renewal negotiations continue, United Insurance Holdings (UPC Insurance) has revealed only about $800mn of its $3.2bn reinsurance program remains to be placed, with its open market capacity needs falling 50 percent over 2018.

Chandler leaves JLT Re for BMS

JLT Re North America deputy CEO Peter Chandler has left the firm to take the position of president at expansive broker BMS’s US reinsurance operations.

Allstate adds vertical and horizontal limit on 2019 cat tower

US insurance giant Allstate has renewed its nationwide excess cat program with a new $300mn cat bond and gap and wrap fill layers to take total reinsurance limits up to $4.863bn, less a $500mn retention and coinsurance in various layers up the tower.

The Hartford buys new $160mn ex-named storms and quake cat cover

The Hartford has bought $160mn of additional cat cover for the rest of 2019 to protect it against loss events other than named storms and earthquakes.

Convex Group launches with London and Bermuda regulatory approval

Stephen Catlin has formally unveiled his new international specialty (re)insurer with $1.8bn of initial committed capital, an AM Best A- (excellent) rating and regulated platforms in Bermuda and London approved to begin underwriting from 1 May.

$1.8bn Convex to launch with crucial A- AM Best rating

The underwriting subsidiaries of Stephen Catlin’s start-up (re)insurer Convex Group have been given A- financial strength and a- credit ratings by AM Best.

Tremor auction platform lines up cat and ILW placements

Insurtech start-up Tremor has several deals lined up for auction on its reinsurance risk placement platform, including traditional excess-of-loss cat programmes, retro transactions and ILWs, The Insurer understands.

AOB reform passes Florida legislature, heads to governor to sign

Florida’s Senate has voted 25-14 to approve a bill to tackle assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse, with the state’s governor confirming that he will sign the bill into law.

Florida Senate committee clears bill to increase FHCF LAE cap

An omnibus bill that would make a raft of insurance-related changes is heading for the Florida Senate floor after passing the Appropriations Committee.

Heritage latest Floridian to reveal hail losses, expects $15mn Q1 cat loss

Floridian insurer Heritage Insurance Holdings expects $10.2mn of net losses from the Brevard County hail storm at the end of March

Fema confirms close of second cat bond, covering $300mn of NFIP risk

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) now has $2.12bn of flood cover in place after confirming the close of a $300mn catastrophe bond covering National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) risk, with Hannover Re acting as a transformer.

AOB reform bill clears Florida Senate committee

A key Florida Senate committee has cleared a bill that would reform assignment of benefits, following the state’s full House of Representatives passing its own AOB bill last week.

Scor top line grows 9% at 1.4 renewals; rates “responded rationally”

Scor Global P&C grew its gross written premiums at the 1.4 renewals by 9.6 percent at constant exchange rates to Eur548mn ($619mn), with rates up significantly in Japan and US market conditions improving.