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☆ British insurer Direct Line axes dividend after bad weather claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It also expected higher motor claims inflation to add two to three percentage points to its 2023 combined operating ratio. Direct Line in July cut its profitability outlook for the year and delayed the second leg of a share buyback. The insurer said it expected total weather claims of around 140 million pounds ($170.30 million) for 2022, well above its original expectation of 73 million pounds. Gross written premiums in motor insurance fell 2% in the fourth quarter versus the previous year, the insurer said. Direct Line also said its property investment portfolio had seen a 15% drop in values, equivalent to 45 million pounds.

LONDON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - U.S. funds giant BlackRock (BLK.N) will defer third-quarter redemptions from its 3.5 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) BlackRock UK Property Fund, a source told Reuters, in the latest sign of strain in Britain's real estate market. BlackRock's UK property fund will defer withdrawals that were originally due to be paid at the end of December, a person familiar with the situation said, asking not to be named. As of November, funds overseeing around 17 billion pounds in UK real estate assets were restricting redemptions to prevent firesales. A spokesperson for Legal & General Investment Management said on Wednesday that its Managed Property Fund was no longer deferring redemptions. M&G, Columbia Threadneedle, Schroders and CBRE did not immediately confirm to Reuters whether redemption deferrals were still in place for their UK property funds.

☆ Reinsurers cut Russia, Ukraine from policies on Jan 1 -broker
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Reinsurers are excluding Russia, Ukraine and Belarus from policies offered to their insurance clients and cutting back their exposure to U.S. hurricanes, a report from reinsurance broker Gallagher Re (AJG.N) showed on Tuesday. Reinsurers insure insurers and Jan. 1 is the most important date in the calendar for policy renewals. Some insurers have already backed away from providing cover in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus due to risk of sanctions or of steep losses. Without reinsurance, insurers are likely to be even more reluctant to provide cover for Russia or Ukraine, industry sources say. Aviation reinsurance rates rose by as much as 200% on Jan. 1 for some types of business, Gallagher Re said.

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. In currencies, the dollar, a beneficiary of rising U.S. interest rates, fell on the day but was on track for a 2022 gain of roughly 8%, its biggest annual increase since 2015. The U.S. U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose on Friday and closed out the trading year with its biggest annual increase in decades, pushed higher by aggressive Fed rate hikes. U.S. crude oil futures registered a second straight annual gain after a wildly volatile year marked by tight supplies due to the Ukraine war and then sliding demand from China, the world's top crude importer. Gold was showing its biggest quarterly gain since June 2020, while the Fed's fast-paced tightening cycle had tempered bullion's progress for the full year.

[1/2] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., December 7, 2022. The dollar, a beneficiary of rising U.S. interest rates, was down slightly on Friday but on track for a 2022 gain of 8%, its biggest annual percentage increase since 2015. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose on the day and was poised to close out the trading year with its biggest annual increase in decades, pushed higher by aggressive Fed rate hikes. In stocks, battered growth stocks and Nasdaq leading declines dragged Wall Street's main indexes lower. The dollar index fell 0.173%, with the euro up 0.12% to $1.0674.

The dollar, a beneficiary of rising U.S. interest rates, was on track for its best annual performance in seven years. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.4% to a two-week low. Sterling was set for its worst performance against the dollar since 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. U.S. Treasuries and German bonds, the benchmarks of global borrowing markets, lost 16% and 24% respectively in dollar terms this year as rates rose. Ten-year German Bund yields rose 4 bps to 2.51% and two-year yields hit their highest since 2008 after data showing Spanish core inflation rose in December.

☆ Global natural catastrophe 2022 insured losses seen at $112 bln-broker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Global insurance losses for natural catastrophes are projected to reach $112 billion in 2022, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Friday, driven by the impact of Hurricane Ian which hit Florida earlier this year. Flood and hail in Europe, Australian floods and severe storms in the United States also contributed to the total, Guy Carpenter said in a statement. Hurricane Ian and other natural catastrophes caused an estimated $115 billion of insured losses so far this year, well above the 10-year average of $81 billion, reinsurer Swiss Re (SRENH.S) estimated earlier this month. ..the sector has experienced", Guy Carpenter said, adding that the process had been "extremely late". The projected losses do not include the impact of the most recent December natural catastrophes, Guy Carpenter added.

☆ Global natural catastrophe insurance losses seen at $112 bln for 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Global insurance losses for natural catastrophes are projected to reach $112 billion in 2022, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter said on Friday, driven by the impact of Hurricane Ian which hit Florida earlier this year. The projected losses do not include the impact of the most recent December natural catastrophes, Guy Carpenter said in a statement. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The dollar, a beneficiary of rising U.S. interest rates, was on track for its best annual performance in seven years. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six major currencies, dipped 0.16%. Sterling was set for its worst performance against the dollar since 2016, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. "Averting a downturn is a tall order," said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, noting that the odds are stacked against economies emerging unscathed from global policy tightening. U.S. Treasuries and German bonds, the benchmarks of global borrowing markets, lost 16% and 24% respectively in dollar terms this year.

☆ Ship insurers to cancel war cover for Russia, Ukraine from Jan 1
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Ship insurers said they are cancelling war risk cover across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, following an exit from the region by reinsurers in the face of steep losses. P&I (protection and indemnity) clubs American, North, UK and West are no longer able to offer war risk cover for liabilities in the region from Jan. 1, they said in recent notices on their websites. The clubs are among the biggest P&I insurers who cover around 90% of the world’s ocean going ships. "The Club's reinsurers are no longer able to secure reinsurance for war risk exposure to Russian, Ukrainian or Belarus territorial risks," it said. Ships typically have P&I insurance, which covers third party liability claims including environmental damage and injury.

Russian airlines continue to operate many of the jets, but some have struggled to secure replacement parts. AerCap (AER.N), SMBC Aviation Capital and Avolon, the world's largest lessors, declined to comment on whether they were involved in talks on payment for jets from Russian airlines or their insurers. RUSSIAN STATE FUNDSRussian state backing for the talks was demonstrated in an Aug. 30 letter from its Transport Ministry to 23 airlines. That was "considerably less than the aggregate Agreed Values" for the aircraft, SMBC said in the letter. But one Western finance official said any deal would face major legal and diplomatic hurdles and talks may be premature.

ROME/PARIS, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Italy's Vega rockets have been grounded and an investigation is under way after the latest model failed on its second mission, destroying two Earth-imaging satellites and further complicating Europe's access to space on top of the war in Ukraine. A spokesperson for Arianespace said both the Vega C and its Vega predecessor had been grounded pending the findings of an investigative commission co-chaired by technical officials from the European Space Agency and Arianespace itself. Italy's Vega C rocket is due to play an increasingly crucial role in Europe's access to space after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced Arianespace to stop using Russian Soyuz vehicles. But Arianespace has been forced to scrap plans to announce a Vega C launch schedule for 2023 in coming weeks. Analysts said only a few operational alternatives to Vega C exist, such as potential rideshares aboard U.S.-based SpaceX's bigger Falcon 9 or Firefly Aerospace's new Alpha launcher, which can loft roughly half the payload weight of Vega C.Other options, though somewhat larger than Vega C, include rockets from Japan and India.

Insurers were already reluctant to underwrite asset and directors and officers (D&O) protection policies for crypto companies because of scant market regulation and the volatile prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Specialists in the Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) and Bermuda insurance markets are requiring more transparency from crypto companies about their exposure to FTX. Exclusions may act as a failsafe for insurers, and will make it even more difficult for companies that are seeking coverage, insurers and brokers said. Crypto firms with financial exposure to FTX include Binance, a crypto exchange, and Genesis, a crypto lender, neither of which responded to e-mails seeking comment. The FTX collapse will also likely lead to a rise in insurance rates, especially in the U.S. D&O market, insurers said.

"Today's data shows that inflation is coming down, but it's lingering and is stickier than most assume," he said. Treasury yields rose, suggesting higher rates ahead for the long term, with the benchmarket 10-year yield up 10.2 basis points to 3.595%. The two-year note , which often moves in step with rate expectations, rose 3.2 basis points to 4.344%. Oil prices rose but both benchmarks were set for a weekly loss as worries over a weak economic outlook in China, Europe and the United States weighed on oil demand. Gold prices rose despite an uptick in the dollar and Treasury yields as some investors still expect the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes from early next year.

[1/2] British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt talks to a television crew outside the BBC headquarters in London, Britain November 18, 2022. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Britain's financial watchdog laid out options on Wednesday it said banks should offer customers finding it difficult to make payments on mortgages during the cost of living crisis. Prices slid last month by the most since the global financial crisis, mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday. In its draft guidance, the FCA also said firms may offer payment concessions where they agree to accept less than the contractual monthly instalment - resulting in a payment shortfall. "We will consider if there are further steps we can take to help firms to support their borrowers, including at scale."

☆ Global pensions with $3 trln on books fear stagflation -survey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Global public pension schemes and sovereign wealth funds managing more than $3 trillion in assets fear a combination of economic slowdown and higher inflation in the next 12-24 months, a survey showed on Tuesday. However, public pension funds' assets grew last year, giving them some cushion against market volatility. Assets under management in the top 100 public pension funds grew by 17% in 2021 to $17.4 trillion, OMFIF said. Assets of the top 50 sovereign wealth funds rose 23% to $9.8 trillion. OMFIF carried out the survey between August and October 2022.

☆ Factbox: Aircraft lessors sue insurers for $8 billion over trapped Russian planes
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Aircraft leasing firms are suing dozens of insurers for around $8 billion in a string of lawsuits over the loss of hundreds of aircraft stuck in Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Lessors argue the aircraft are covered by policies against war or theft, but insurers point out the planes are undamaged and might yet be returned. Here is a list of claims filed against insurers in London, Dublin and the United States, with the most recent filing listed first. SMBC AVIATION CAPITAL VS LLOYD'S OF LONDONSMBC filed a claim against Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) in the Irish High Court on Nov 28. BOC AVIATION VS 16 INSURERSBOC Aviation has begun legal action against 16 insurers, according to an Irish High Court filing on Nov 3.

Many in the art and insurance world, however, say it may be only be a matter of time before art works are vandalised, especially if protests spread beyond climate activism. The art insurance market globally earns around $750 million in premiums. PRESSURE ON PREMIUMSLosses and levels of insurance availability tend to dictate insurance premiums. Commercial museums and galleries, however, buy art insurance, and its use is also more prevalent among larger museums in the United States than in Europe. While five insurers contacted by Reuters said they were not yet factoring climate attacks into premiums, some artists say they already face increased costs.

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The British government and the Bank of England are reforming insurers' capital rules, seen as a post-Brexit test of UK willingness to "unshackle" the City of London after leaving the European Union. The EU's Solvency II rules were introduced for insurers in 2016, after years of debate, when Britain was still an EU member. They are designed to ensure insurers hold enough capital to remain stable and can make payouts on policies. The Bank has already consulted on potential changes it says would release 45-90 billion pounds ($53.65-$107.30 billion) of investment capital. The second element involves easing reporting requirements, widening the range of assets insurers can invest in, and tweaks to how insurers' internal capital models are approved.

☆ Factbox: COP27: Counting the rising cost of climate disasters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

How to get money to poorer countries after climate disasters has been a dominant theme at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, and insurance is seen as one way to do that. On Monday, a G7-led plan dubbed "Global Shield" to provide pre-arranged insurance and disaster protection funding to countries suffering climate disasters was launched at the climate conference. Worst fires: Tubbs Fire Oct 2017, Camp Fire Nov 20182017 loss: $180 billion2017 deaths: 402018 loss: $148.5 billion2018 deaths: 103Total loss: $328.5 billion2. Harvey loss: $125 billionHarvey deaths: 88Irma loss: $65 billionIrma deaths: 134Maria loss: $107 billionMaria deaths: 4,600Total loss: $297 billion3. Hurricane Ian, Florida, Sept 2022The hurricane hit southwestern Florida and South Carolina, with a 4-metre high storm surge on the west coast of Florida.

Insurers face potential losses of up to $60 billion from Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida and the Carolinas in September in what could be the second-largest natural catastrophe loss in U.S. history. Zurich sees its overall catastrophe loss ratio for the first nine months around two percentage points above long-term trends. Zurich holds an investor day next week when it will set out its 2023-2025 targets. Quinn said the targets will likely be tougher, after "robust premium increases" helped the insurer's recent performance. Zurich announced a 1.8 billion Swiss franc ($1.83 billion) share buyback programme at half-year results, which Quinn told an earlier media call would likely kick off in the fourth quarter.

☆ Aviva pledges regular investor payouts as premiums rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jefferies analysts have previously said they expect Aviva to make recurring 250 million pound ($289 million) pay-outs. Aviva has already returned 4.75 billion pounds to investors after raising 7.5 billion in a string of asset sales since Blanc became CEO in July 2020. Cevian in the past called on Aviva to return five billion pounds to shareholders by the end of 2022. Aviva reported a 10% rise in general insurance gross written premiums in the first nine months of the year to 7.2 billion pounds. The value of new business in its UK and Ireland life division rose 46% over the same period to 466 million pounds.

☆ UK bond turmoil leaves smaller pension schemes with longer-term costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Carolyn Cohn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

As pension funds scrambled for cash to meet margin calls, the Bank of England intervened to stabilise the market and avoid the collapse of some LDI-exposed funds. But pension schemes that could not meet margin calls in time - many of them smaller schemes - had their positions liquidated by LDI fund managers. Larger schemes in segregated funds were more likely to have retained their hedges, industry sources said. Large schemes in segregated funds pay lower fees for more volume - a benefit small schemes cannot enjoy. LDI fund managers BlackRock (BLK.N) and Insight Investment did not respond to requests for comment.

☆ Lloyd's of London insurer Ascot says resumes Black Sea grain cover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London insurer Ascot is once again quoting on its cargo insurance facility for the Black Sea grain corridor, the facility's lead underwriter said on Wednesday. Ascot said on Monday it was suspending the cover after Moscow suspended its participation in the U.N.-brokered grains export deal. Russia said on Wednesday it would resume its participation in the grain deal. Other insurers also provide cover through the facility. Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Jonathan Saul, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Lloyd’s of London insurer Ascot is suspending writing cover for new shipments using the Ukrainian grains corridor in the Black Sea until it has more clarity about the situation there, a senior official said on Monday. Moscow said it was forced to pull out of the Black Sea grain shipping deal after blasts damaged Russian navy ships in the Crimean port of Sevastopol on Saturday. "From today we are pausing on quoting new shipments until we better understand the situation,” Ascot head of cargo Chris McGill told Reuters. Ascot and broker Marsh launched a facility for grain traders in late July to provide up to $50 million in cargo cover for every voyage. Russia's announcement on Saturday that it was suspending its role in the U.N.-backed programme that escorts cargo ships through the Black Sea fanned fears it would reimpose a blockade on Ukrainian grain.

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