Reinsurance - Latest Insurance News

Willis Group to Add S. African Broker

Oct 6 2005 // Willis Group Holdings has agreed to acquire the business and assets of Reinsurance Consultants and Intermediaries Ltd. (RCI), the reinsurance division of South African insurance broker Glenrand M.I.B. Limited...

Best Assigns FSR to East Africa Reinsurance Co.

Oct 4 2005 // A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of B (Fair) and an issuer credit rating of “bb” to East Africa Reinsurance Company Limited (EARE) (Kenya). The outlook for both ratings is stable. The...

Fitch: Katrina Causes Unprecedented Challenges, Risks for P/C Insurers

Oct 3 2005 // The circumstances surrounding Hurricane Katrina are unprecedented in many ways, reports Fitch Ratings. So much so that the rating agency may need to reassess the core risk profile of the property/casualty insurance...

News Briefs

Oct 3 2005 // Roundup of Katrina Loss Estimates: As the scope of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina became increasingly evident, European and Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers continued to calculate their potential...

S&P Lowers PXRE Ratings

Sep 30 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Rating Services announced that it has lowered its counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Bermuda-based PXRE Reinsurance Ltd. and U.S.-based PXRE Reinsurance Co. to...

S&P Revises Outlook on Global Reinsurers from Stable to Negative; To Hold Telephone Conference

Sep 29 2005 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has revised its outlook on the global reinsurance industry to negative from stable. The news appears in a report, published today, entitled “Near-Term...

Munich Re Analyzes Katrina/Rita Impact; Insured Loss Around $40 Billion

Sep 28 2005 // Munich Re has issued a report on the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the insurance industry. The world’s largest reinsurer said it “estimates total insured market losses at up to US$ 40 billion,”...

Brit Estimates Total Katrina/Rita Claims at $256 Million

Sep 28 2005 // The U.K.’s Brit Insurance Holdings PLC announced that it has preliminarily estimated its combined loss claims from Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Flood and Rita at 145 million pounds ($256 million). “This...

Fitch: Hurricane Rita Won’t Cause Widespread U.S. Insurance Company Rating Changes

Sep 26 2005 // Fitch Ratings said Monday it expects Hurricane Rita will represent a material loss to the insurance industry and will create further strain on insurers’ claims-adjusting resources. However, Fitch does not expect any...

Fitch Takes Fairfax Off Credit Watch; Affirms Ratings

Sep 26 2005 // Fitch Ratings announced that it has affirmed the ratings of Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings, Ltd. with a stable out look, and has removed the ratings from its negative credit watch. “The rating action...

Assurant Obtains Added Reinsurance Coverage

Sep 22 2005 // Assurant Inc., a provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, has purchased additional reinsurance coverage as part of its catastrophic reinsurance program. The company is still assessing...

ARIG Launches Takaful Re

Sep 20 2005 // The Bahrain-based Arab Insurance Group (ARIG) announced that it has taken the lead of a group of financial institutions in launching Takaful Re, which it describes as “the first major Islamic Reinsurance...

PXRE Estimates Katrina Impact at $235 to $300 Million; Sees 2005 Loss

Sep 20 2005 // The Bermuda-based PXRE Group Ltd. has updated its estimates of potential losses from Hurricane Katrina to between $235 to $300 million, “after tax, reinsurance recoveries on its outwards reinsurance program and the...

Fitch: Katrina Causes Unprecedented Challenges/Risks for P/C Insurers

Sep 19 2005 // Circumstances surrounding Hurricane Katrina are unprecedented in many ways, said Fitch Ratings. So much so that the rating agency may need to reassess the core risk profile of the property/casualty insurance...

Surveying the Damage: After Katrina, Can the Industry Withstand Another Disaster?

Sep 19 2005 // Hurricane Katrina could be called an industry nightmare. Some insurers were still reeling from the effects of the Asian tsunamis and last year’s four hurricanes. Yet when Katrina struck in late August, she forced...

FINITE REINSURANCE REQUIREMENTS ENDED

Sep 19 2005 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has withdrawn proposed state-specific requirements regarding the accounting treatment of finite reinsurance, making it the second state to do so. The office has opted instead to...

Arch Capital Estimates Q3 Katrina Impact at $110 to $160M

Sep 19 2005 // Bermuda-based Arch Capital Group Ltd. announced that it expects third quarter operating earnings to be negatively impacted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina in the range of $110 to $160 million, after tax. “These...

Weathering the storm