AM Best in talks with Canopius to resolve “under review” stanceAM Best expects to resolve its “under review” status of the Swiss and US subsidiaries of Canopius in the next few weeks following the completion of the Lloyd’s insurer’s $952mn buy-out.
Aspen confirms $125mn ADC and buys more QS and XoL in 2018Bermudian (re)insurer Aspen has bought a $125mn adverse development cover (ADC) to protect against prior year deterioration and is buying significantly more reinsurance in 2018 that may inhibit its ability to rebound its net earnings.
S&P places Axa on watch over XL bidRatings agency S&P has put Axa’s long-term ratings on negative watch citing concerns about the French carrier’s capital adequacy if its proposed $15.3bn acquisition of XL succeeds.
Rating agencies flex their muscles once againDowngrades and negative outlooks are becoming a common phenomenon once again.
Under pressure Maiden shares hold up despite AM Best downgradeShares in Maiden Holdings closed broadly flat on 2 March following a downgrade by AM Best earlier that day as investors acknowledged the Bermudian’s lower dependence on financial strength ratings compared to its peers.
CBL puts itself into administrationEmbattled New Zealand carrier CBL Group has placed itself into voluntary administration in the wake of a High Court order forcing it to put its insurer into interim liquidation late last week.
New Zealand regulator puts CBL into liquidationThe Reserve Bank of New Zealand has won a court order to place CBL Insurance into interim liquidation amid concerns about the adequacy of the construction specialist’s reserving practices.
CBL shares now halted amid Gibraltar ‘dommages ouvrage’ concernsNew Zealand-listed carrier CBL has had its shares suspended by the country’s stock exchange days after it announced a NZ$100mn reserve strengthening to deal with deteriorations in controversial Gibraltar-written French construction business.
Hurricanes and wildfires drive US P&C underwriting 2017 loss: AM BestHurricanes and wildfires in the third and fourth quarter of 2017 pushed US property and casualty (P&C) business to a loss for the year, according to AM Best.
AM Best model change to spur reinsurance demandReinsurers are set to benefit from an uptick in demand for coverage from primary carriers following a change to AM Best’s rating methodology, Aon Benfield has said.
Brexit poses big challenges: AM BestThe rating firm issued a report on the rising issue of protectionism but said that Brexit will cause significant issues for both UK and international firms operating from London.
California’s $4.6bn wildfires cost add to reinsurers’ H2 2017 loss tallyThe wildfires that have swept through California’s wine making region will add a further $4.6bn in H2 2017 losses to the (re)insurance industry, rating agency Moody’s estimates.
Lloyd’s S&P outlook downgraded to negativeAgainst a backdrop of circa $100bn in industry losses from the recent catastrophic events, S&P has revised its outlook for the market from stable to negative, while maintaining it’s A+ financial strength.