Rates

City watchdog warns Lloyd’s brokers to explain hardening market to buyers

Lloyd’s and London market intermediaries must reacquire the skills needed to explain to clients why premiums in certain lines of business may increase as a result of a hardening market, the City watchdog warned Tuesday.

Hannover Re cautious on 2021 top-line growth

The positive impact of a hardening reinsurance market will not necessarily translate to higher premium growth or produce a direct benefit to the combined ratio for Hannover Re’s P&C segment in 2021.

Lloyd’s fund Helios to raise £20mn as rates continue to harden

Listed Lloyd’s investment vehicle Helios has confirmed plans to raise £20mn ($25.7mn) via a placing and open offer which will enable the group to substantially expand its underwriting exposure in 2021.

Property retro market most dislocated “in 15, 20 years”: Everest’s Doucette

Everest Re is bullish about its reinsurance opportunities heading into 1 January, with reinsurance CEO John Doucette noting the property retro market is the most dislocated it has been in at least 15 years.

Nothing stopping increasing rate momentum: Pat Gallagher

Arthur J Gallagher (AJG) chairman, president and CEO Pat Gallagher sees nothing “softening or stopping the momentum” of rate rises that are being imposed across the industry, with capital providers “not seeing light at the end of the tunnel” when it comes to improving their rates of return.

AFG already enjoying “great returns” in excess liability and looking to grow

American Financial Group (AFG) is already making “great returns” from its excess liability book, with the company set to grow in the sector as it looks to take advantage of the improvements underway within the segment, according to co-CEO Carl Lindner.

Glaser rails against ‘harsh’ rate rises as global pricing index hits 20% in Q3

Marsh & McLennan Companies CEO Dan Glaser has revealed rate increases in the Marsh Global Insurance Market Index accelerated to 20 percent in Q3 and criticised the rate of hardening at a time when insurance buyers are under significant economic pressures.

Axis to return to GWP growth in 2021: Benchimol

Axis Capital’s CEO has stressed his company will grow its top line next year, following a 3 percent drop in gross written premium (GWP) so far this year, while pointing to strong rate increases across the Bermudian’s insurance and reinsurance books.

American Financial beats and says P&C rate increases are highest in 15 years

American Financial Group reported a comfortable core operating earnings beat and raised full-year guidance as it said renewal pricing in its P&C business was up 13 percent overall in the third quarter, the highest in 15 years.

The Hanover’s Roche expects social inflation to re-emerge after Covid lull

Casualty rate increases are “meaningfully in excess of loss trend” at the moment but a re-emergence of social inflation could exceed previous levels, The Hanover’s CEO Jack Roche commented on an investor call.

Markel targets double-digit premium growth in 2021

Markel co-chief executive Ritchie Whitt said the (re)insurance group was targeting double-digit growth in its underwriting operations in 2021 as it aims to capitalise on rate increases and organic growth opportunities.

Chubb shares trade up on strong Q3 premium growth

Investors reacted to Chubb’s third-quarter results by sending its share price up over 4 percent in early morning trading, while chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg revealed the insurer’s overall North America rates are up 15 percent.

West of England P&I premiums “no longer sustainable” at it imposes 7.5% increase at renewal

The West of England P&I Club’s premium levels are “no longer sustainable” and the mutual will not meet its targeted 100 percent combined ratio for the current policy year, with members facing a general increase of 7.5 percent for P&I and freight, demurrage and defence (FD&D) coverage at renewal in response.

Chubb misses on Q3 earnings as cats losses bite

Third quarter 2020 catastrophe losses took their toll on Chubb as the insurer’s operating profit for the period dropped by 27 percent year on year to $907mn, but the company provided positive news on pricing momentum with rates up 15 percent in North America and 16 percent overseas.

Brown & Brown organic growth was 3.5% in first 9 months but uncertainty clouds outlook

US broker Brown & Brown reported organic growth of 4.3 percent in Q3 and 3.5 percent for the first nine months of 2020, numbers that would have been in line with its low to mid-single-digit expectation in a “steady state economy”.

US market in “new phase of recalibration”: Gallagher

Premium increases in the US will continue for the rest of the year and throughout 2021, Arthur J Gallagher has forecast in a fall market update, with the broker saying there is so much variability that it cannot provide rate guidance that would set reasonable expectations for most clients.

Reinsurance primed for ‘sustained hard market’: Jefferies

The reinsurance sector is increasingly primed for a sustained hard market, according to analysts at Jefferies, with conditions now similar to those seen over the 2000 to 2003 period.

Marine liability pricing continues to accelerate as market digests losses

Pricing in the marine liability reinsurance market has continued on its path of recent accelerating quarter-after-quarter increases with a spate of losses pushing underwriters to impose even greater rate rises on clients.

Motor premiums dip 1% in Q3 as driving plummets during pandemic

The cost of comprehensive UK motor insurance premiums fell by 1 percent to £765 ($1,000) in the third quarter of 2020, as insurers reacted to the sharp drop in driving activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hannover Re: renewal costs on its €1.2bn retro programme will impact bottom line

Higher retro costs at 1 January, the low-yield environment, US social inflation and Covid-19 uncertainty are headwinds that will temper the earnings benefit from a hardening reinsurance market.

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