Latest Reinsurance Headlines

All the headlines from our Reinsurance Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Cat Models – More Accurate, More Sophisticated and More Useful

Sep 17 2012 // Catastrophe models have become such an indispensable tool for re/insurers, particularly those who write P&C catastrophe coverage, that it’s hard to believe the service is only 25 years old. It was launched in...

Swiss Re’s Chief Economist on the State of the Global Economy

Sep 14 2012 // “The European debt crisis is affecting the global economy, definitely,” said Kurt Karl, Swiss Re’s chief economist in an interview at the recent Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo. He did indicate that...

Allstate Raising Homeowner Rates in Louisiana

Sep 13 2012 // Allstate Corp. is raising rates for 144,000 Louisiana homeowners who get their insurance coverage from two Allstate companies. The company announced that about 71,000 homeowners insured by Allstate Insurance Co. will see...

Q&A with Florida’s Citizens CEO Gilway: Leading in the Public Sector

Sep 13 2012 // Two months ago when Barry Gilway took over as president of Florida’s state-run property insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., he quickly learned there would be no honeymoon period. He was thrust into debates...

Best to Assign Ratings to Merged QBE European Reinsurance Entities

Sep 13 2012 // A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has commented that it expects to assign a financial strength rating (FSR) and an issuer credit rating (ICR) to UK-based QBE Re (Europe) Limited) on or shortly after 30 September...

Low Interest Rates: an Ongoing Problem for the Re/insurance Industry

Sep 12 2012 // Swiss Re’s sigma report analyzing the effect on the insurance industry of the continuing low interest rates doesn’t paint a pretty picture. They have been at historic lows for several years. For instance the...

Reinsurance Industry Exhibits Stability: Aon Benfield

Sep 11 2012 // In the past 12 years, only eight reinsurers have been declared insolvent despite paying claims of more than $150 billion from events including the World Trade Center attacks, hurricanes Rita, Wilma and Katrina, the Great...

Reinsurance Rendezvous Focuses on Euro Zone, Interest Rates, Capital

Sep 10 2012 // For once there’s no natural catastrophe hanging over the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous in Monte Carlo (the 56th edition). Tropical storm Leslie missed Bermuda and Hurricane Michael is safely out in the Atlantic. But...

Grinnell Mutual Promotes Menary, Eaves

Sep 10 2012 // Jeff Menary has been named vice president of Reinsurance at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co., located in Grinnell, Iowa, and Kurt Eaves has been named vice president of Direct Underwriting/Production. Both position changes...

Missouri Increases Reinsurance Requirement for Mutual Companies

Sep 10 2012 // State regulators say mutual insurance companies that provide property coverage to rural Missourians will be financially stronger because of a new reinsurance requirement. Missouri Department of Insurance reports that a new...

P/C Insurers Show Improved Results Mid-Year: Fitch

Sep 10 2012 // U.S. property/casualty insurers’ operating performance improved significantly in the first half of 2012, according to Fitch Ratings. The aggregate combined ratio of 47 publicly traded property/casualty (re)insurers...

Analysis: Florida’s Insurers, Reinsurance and Catastrophic Storms

Sep 10 2012 // Since 1996, Demotech has rated most of the homegrown Florida domiciled insurers. Our efforts have focused on the assignment of Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) to all financially stable insurers, start-ups as well as...

W. R. Berkley Names President of Facultative Resources in Connecticut

Sep 7 2012 // W. R. Berkley Corp. has appointed Joseph Sullivan as president of Facultative Resources Inc. He is based in Stamford, Connecticut. Facultative Resources is a broker market casualty, professional liability and property...

Best’s Global Reinsurance Market Review Analyzes Top 50, Capital, Ratings

Sep 5 2012 // A.M. Best has published a review of the international reinsurance market, which analyzes the performance of the largest reinsurers (rated by gross premiums written). Although the figures – based on 2011 – do not...

Moody’s Maintains Stable Outlook on Global Reinsurance Industry

Sep 5 2012 // Moody’s Investors Service has maintained a stable outlook for the global reinsurance industry. Moody’s said the outlook “expresses our expectations for the fundamental credit conditions in the industry...

Global Reinsurer Capital Reaches $480 Billion: Aon Benfield Study

Sep 5 2012 // The latest edition of the Aon Benfield Aggregate (ABA) report, which analyzes the financial position of the world’s leading reinsurers for the first half of 2012, concludes that “global reinsurer capital...

Schmelz Joins Edwards Wildman as a Partner in Insurance and Reinsurance

Sep 4 2012 // The law firm of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP named Ronie M. Schmelz a partner in the firm’s insurance and reinsurance department. She will divide her practice between the firm’s offices in Los Angeles and New...

UPDATE: Validus’ Flagstone Re Buy Examined

Aug 31 2012 // Reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd said it will buy Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings for about $600 million in cash and stock to boost its property reinsurance business. The deal comes after Validus unsuccessfully tried to buy...

Validus to Buy Flagstone Re for $600 Million in Cash and Stock

Aug 30 2012 // Reinsurer Validus Holdings Ltd said it will buy Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings for about $600 million in cash and stock to boost its property reinsurance business. The deal comes after Validus unsuccessfully tried to buy...

GJS Re Opens Facultative Reinsurance Unit; Threlfall to Lead

Aug 29 2012 // G.J. Sullivan Co. Reinsurance (GJS Re) has launched GJS Re Facultative to focus on providing quality property facultative reinsurance to select insurance company clients on a nationwide basis. John W. Threlfall joins GJS...