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☆ How a Small Group of Firms Changed the Math for Insuring Against Natural Disasters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Emily Flitter | More About Emily Flitter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As disasters like the wildfires that devastated the Hawaiian town of Lahaina and the storms that tore apart roofs from Alabama to Massachusetts last week intensify, insurance companies have pulled back from offering coverage in certain areas or cut the kinds of damage they will pay to repair. A little-noticed slice of the financial industry that provides insurance to insurers, called reinsurance, has helped drive the changes. These companies promise to step in with cash — usually huge amounts — when something like a hurricane, wildfire or other big disaster creates damage that is too costly and widespread for insurance companies to pay for on their own. And at the beginning of the year, nearly all of them raised prices. That led to a flurry of tense negotiations between those insurers and firms, like Swiss Re, Odyssey Re and other reinsurers, many of whom are headquartered outside of the United States.

Persons: reinsurers Organizations: Farmers, Swiss Locations: Lahaina, Alabama, Massachusetts, United States, Canada

☆ Barclays says hot seas will lead to a severe hurricane season and names one stock to benefit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

As oceans warm, Barclays now anticipates a worse-than-expected hurricane season — and sees one stock that could be a good investment by the shift in outlook. Despite early expectations for a mild hurricane season given the El Niño weather pattern , Barclays analyst Craig Rye said the season should now be more severe than previously anticipated in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Beyond the human and economic costs of severe hurricane seasons, however, Rye said property and casualty insurance data provider Verisk Analytics could benefit from a more severe season as a result of higher claims. VRSK YTD mountain Verisk's 2023 It's already been a strong year for Verisk stock, with shares up more than 34% since 2023 began and reaching new all-time highs twice in July. Elsewhere, Rye noted reinsurers tend to outperform in hurricane season with little impact from the actual strength of that season.

Persons: Craig Rye, Rye, Verisk's, Tracy Benguigui, It's, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Barclays, Atlantic, Colorado State University, CSU, Cyclone Energy, Munich Re Locations: Florida, Manatee Bay , Florida, Florida , Texas, Louisiana, Rye, California, Munich, Lancashire

☆ Insurer’s Retreat in Florida Signals Crisis With No Easy Fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Emily Flitter | More About Emily Flitter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Insurers are trapped in a riddle: In a world where the risk of costly disasters is rising but high premiums are squeezing policyholders and angering state regulators, how can they continue to make money? Farmers, one of America’s biggest home insurers, didn’t say what specifically led to its decision. Was the cost of payouts too high in recent years, which saw record-setting numbers of billion-dollar disasters, just as rates charged by reinsurers, which sell insurance to insurers, were rising? Or is Farmers playing a game of chicken with state regulators, hoping that walking away now will give it leverage to charge customers more in the future? “A lot of insurers have been losing a lot of money in Florida and they’ve been threatening to leave for years,” said Daniel Schwarcz, a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School who specializes in insurance.

Persons: they’ve, ”, Daniel Schwarcz Organizations: Farmers Insurance, reinsurers, Farmers, University of Minnesota Law School Locations: Florida

NEW YORK/LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - One of the world's top insurers is mulling offloading its property reinsurance business in a bid to cut its exposure to natural disasters like hurricanes, according to three people familiar with the matter. Prices for U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance rose by as much as 50% at a key July 1 renewal date, broker Gallagher Re said in a recent report. AXA has been trying to reduce the exposure of its AXA XL property and casualty (P&C) division - which houses XL Re - in an effort to make earnings more predictable. This has caused the reinsurance business to shrink, with revenues dropping by nearly a third last year to $3.2 billion, according to AXA's 2022 accounts. In May, American International Group (AIG.N) agreed the sale of its reinsurance arm Validus Re for roughly $3 billion, or about 1.4 times the unit's book value.

Persons: Reinsurers, Hurricane Ian, Gallagher Re, David French, Pablo Mayo, Amy, Jo Crowley, Carolyn Cohn, Echo Wang, Silvia Aloisi, John O'Donnell, Conor Humphries Organizations: AXA SA, XL, Covea, AXA, AXA XL, American International, Fidelis Insurance Holdings, Reuters, Hamilton Insurance, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Bermuda, New York, London, Paris

☆ Third quarter is a key time for extreme weather events. Here's what to expect for exposed stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

The third quarter is a key time for extreme weather events. An El Niño weather pattern is widely expected for 2023. "Following three years of La Niña, climate scientists expect 2023 to have El Niño conditions with near-100% certainty given current signals," Karp said in a note to clients last month. Insurers are also among the stocks to typically move in relation to extreme weather events. This year should be a fairly typical one for hurricanes, as El Niño is typically linked to a less severe season.

Persons: Nature, —, Sophie Karp, La, Karp, El, bode, Morgan Stanley, Andrei Stadnik, Stadnik, Matthew Carletti doesn't, hasn't, Jefferies, Yaron Kinar, Brown, Arthur J, Gallagher, Aon, Niño, Generac, Aaron Jagdfeld, Bob Huang, bullish, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Energy, DTE Energy, WEC Energy, CNBC Pro's, WEC, Xcel Energy, Portland General Electric, Edison International, CenterPoint, Southern Company, Duke Energy, Nextera Energy, El, Insurance Australia Group, Suncorp, Arch Capital, Everest Re, Bloomberg, Arch Locations: El, Canada, U.S, Gulf, Pacific Northwest, California, Michigan, Avista, Portland, American, Mexico, CenterPoint Energy, Bermuda, Texas

☆ U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance rates rise up to 50% on July 1-report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Higher reinsurance rates can affect the premiums which insurers charge to their customers. U.S. reinsurance rates for policies which previously faced claims for natural catastrophes rose 30-50%, Gallagher Re said. Reinsurance rates for similar policies in Florida rose 30-40%, the broker added. State Farm said in May it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California. Reinsurance rates for some types of aviation war policies rose by up to 100% on the July 1 renewal date, Gallagher Re said.

Persons: Mike Blake, Gallagher Re, James Vickers, Gallagher, Hurricane Ian, Aon, Carolyn Cohn, Noor Zainab Hussain, Louise Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Farm, Gallagher Re, Reuters, Vickers, Hurricane, U.S, Industry, Boeing, Thomson Locations: Laguna Niguel , California, U.S, California, Florida, In Florida, Russia, Khartoum, London, Bengaluru

New York CNN —Homeowners insurance is becoming more expensive and, in many places, more difficult to find. The companies also blame limits placed on insurance premiums in some states, including California. Insurance premiums nationwide aren’t up significantly – only 1.6% in the last 12 months according to the Consumer Price Index, the government’s main inflation measure. For instance, in Louisiana, 17% of homeowners insurance policyholders had their policies canceled last year, according to an annual report from Louisiana State University. Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of policyholders said homeowners and flood insurance are more expensive in Louisiana than other states.

Persons: Ian, ”, Matthew Carletti, “ They’ve, it’s, ” Carletti, Dave Jones, ” Jones, policyholders, Carletti, Frank Frievalt’s, ” Frievalt, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN — Homeowners, Farm, Allstate, JMP Securities, Consumer, State Farm, State, Louisiana State University, Citizens Property Insurance, UN Locations: New York, Florida, California, California , Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, , California

☆ Tornado alley is widening, putting millions more people and properties at risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Much of that is because the season is starting earlier, and tornado alley is expanding due to a warmer climate. Tornadoes need four ingredients to form, explained Ashley: moisture, instability (which provides the energy necessary for the storms), wind shear and lift. When a powerful F-4 tornado plowed through Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in March, residents were largely unprepared. The only one that I can remember is 1971, and the tornado bypassed Rolling Fork. That's precisely why the widening of tornado alley is fast becoming a new focus for insurers.

Persons: Walker Scott Ashley, Ashley, Eldridge Walker, Walker, That's, John Dickson, Dickson, Eric Andersen, Aon Organizations: Climate Central, Northern Illinois University, Tornadoes, Global, U.S ., Farm, Allstate Locations: U.S, Northeast Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Fork , Mississippi, Rolling, Kansas, Mississippi, Aon, California

☆ Omaha man sails into Florida’s imperfect storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Robert Cyran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

This imperfect storm suits the Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) CEO’s investing style. Underwriters in the state have been feverishly trying to offload risk following last year’s Category 5 hurricane that was Florida’s deadliest in nearly 90 years. The upside is several billion dollars, Jain said, if Mother Nature turns out to be more forgiving. “If the big hurricane happens in Florida, we could lose – across all the units, we could lose as much as $15 billion. And if there isn’t a loss, we’ll make several billion dollars as profit,” Jain said during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha.

☆ Morgan Stanley predicts solid first-quarter results for these 5 European stocks – but with a catch
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Morgan Stanley predicted that European companies will beat market expectations for first-quarter earnings, citing the better-than-expected macro figures of the last few months. Strategists at the bank warned that these factors could lead to downgrades later in the year, alongside a 10% fall in full-year earnings per share. The table below shows five stocks highlighted by Morgan Stanley, where its analysts have a "high conviction" in results. The investment bank said Saint-Gobain isn't expected to beat market expectations when it reports first-quarter results on Apr. Morgan Stanley is also bullish toward London-listed Whitbread ahead of its full-year results on Apr.

☆ German business group wants Berlin to offer more protection in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, April 7 (Reuters) - German companies active in eastern European have called on the government in Berlin to take on more risk and provide increased security for business in Ukraine, particularly for transport. "The federal government has to take on more risk than usual," Harms said, and it "shouldn't relieve companies of business risk but should help with creative instruments." The association's demand follows German Economy Minister Robert Habeck's promise during a visit to Kyiv this week to provide German companies investment guarantees in Ukraine as part of reconstruction efforts. "Company representatives say that these investment guarantees are necessary in order to get investment decisions through the board of directors," said Harms, who travelled with Habeck to Kyiv. More than 20 applications for such investment guarantees are in the pipeline, ministry sources said.

[1/2] Dressmaker Faieza Caswell from Mitchells Plain sews under candlelight in her workplace, on the Cape Flats due to South Africa's struggling power utility company Eskom, implementing regular power cuts - called 'load-shedding', in Cape Town, South Africa February 11, 2023. South Africa's relatively wealthy, developed economy and nearly three decades of political stability helped drive industry growth and draw in reinsurers. And they are now tightening the conditions of their agreements with insurance companies. Reinsurers are also pushing insurance companies to include so-called "named perils" in policies rather than offering blanket cover for catastrophes. Grid failure would plunge South Africa into a nationwide blackout that could last weeks.

☆ Insurers count the cost of ships snagged in Ukraine crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Curtailed shipments from major grain exporter Ukraine played a role in the resulting global food crisis. According to shipping and insurance industry assessments, there are still between 40 and 60 ships stranded, and ship owners can claim a total loss for vessels stuck for a year from their insurers. A senior industry source said exposure for the ships currently stuck was estimated at $500 million. "The liabilities for those people who have ships stuck there, to get those ships out - it’s a real headache." "There is going to be some form of constructive agreement I suspect, but then that owner will have to buy war risk insurance all over again."

☆ Reinsurers Getting Some Shelter From the Storms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The reinsurance industry has been caught up in storm after storm in recent years. This year, it may get an umbrella. Last year, weather-related events including Florida’s Hurricane Ian caused claims of about $120 billion for insurers, making it the third-costliest year for weather catastrophes, according to Fitch Ratings estimates. But the silver lining for the reinsurers that backstop a lot of catastrophe risk for other insurers is that—finally—their rates and terms may be able to significantly adjust to better reflect the elevated frequency and severity of losses in a changing climate.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

TOKYO, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Japanese insurers are expected to maintain marine war insurance, which covers the sinking and requisition of ships due to war in Russian waters for at least three months for liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, industry sources said on Friday. But on Tuesday, a senior official at the industry ministry said the Japanese government had asked insurers to take on additional risks to continue providing war insurance for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shippers. The insurance companies negotiated with reinsurers to replace part of the coverage and they are expected to enable continued insurance, Nikkei reported on Thursday. After renegotiating with UK reinsurers, a total of 30 billion yen ($224 million) is expected to be secured, with domestic insurers covering about 8 billion yen and overseas reinsurers taking on about 22 billion yen, it said. But added the underwriting capacity will be less than half of the previous 67 billion yen.

☆ Explainer: How will Japan resolve shipping insurance for Russian LNG imports?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Yuka Obayashi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Japan's Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance told shipowners last week that from Jan. 1 they would stop offering insurance coverage for ship damage caused by war in Russian waters, because reinsurers were withdrawing coverage. Japan receives 9% of its imported LNG from Sakhalin-2, which is owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and Japanese trading houses. Loss of supply from Sakhalin-2 could send Japanese power and gas utilities such as JERA and Tokyo Gas Co Ltd (9531.T) scrambling for alternatives. It has had to persuade G7 partners to give it leeway so it could keep importing Russian LNG, and after the Russian government decided in June to seize control of Sakhalin-2, Japanese trading houses had to agree to remain as shareholders of the new Russian operator. read more"The top priority now is to secure marine war insurance," a senior official at the industry ministry said.

☆ 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.

☆ Japan govt asks insurers to retain marine war insurance for LNG shippers in Russian waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The Japanese government has requested insures to take on additional risks to continue providing marine war insurance for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shippers in Russian waters, a senior official at the industry ministry said. The Financial Services Agency and Agency for Natural Resources and Energy made the request in a letter to the country's general insurance association. Tokyo wants to ensure Japan will continue to import LNG from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia, the official told Reuters. Three Japanese insurance companies that are set to halt marine coverage of risks related to the war in Ukraine starting next month are in talks with reinsurers to resume those operations, they said on Monday. read moreReporting by Yuka Obayashi Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan insurers in talks with reinsurers to resume coverage in Russian waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance on Friday told shipowners that they would stop offering marine war insurance, which covers damage to ships from war in Russian waters, from Jan. 1, spokespeople at the companies said. "We are negotiating with various reinsurers to get the war coverage in order to restart providing marine war insurance in the area to our customers," a spokespeople at Tokio Marine said, adding that some reinsurers have responded "positively." Sompo Japan and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance are also searching for new reinsurers, their spokespeople said. Most vessels get two types of insurance: marine insurance covering damage from natural disasters and collisions, and marine war insurance covering damage from war or terrorism. Without marine war insurance, shipowners may give up operations in Russian waters, including picking up LNG from the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia's Far East.

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.

☆ Florida faces a slew of insurance problems post-Hurricane Ian
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFlorida faces a slew of insurance problems post-Hurricane IanDanielle Lombardo, the head of global real estate at Lockton, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss how Hurricane Ian has exasperated insurance pricing in Florida, the exodus of reinsurers in Florida and ongoing fraud issues in Florida.

☆ Insurers Are Facing a Steep Rise in Reinsurance Rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Leslie Scism | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hurricane Ian is estimated to cost insurers from $40 billion to more than $70 billion. Hurricane season is nearly over, though one more storm is potentially heading for Florida. For insurers, the worries won’t end on Nov. 30. Insurers are in the middle of negotiations with reinsurers, which are trying to boost rates by 10% to 30%. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. property-catastrophe coverage renews each Jan. 1, including for many large diversified U.S. and European insurers.

☆ This California startup says it can predict where wildfires might start—it's using that power in a surprising way
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Nobody can predict the future, but a San Francisco-based startup called Kettle seems able to predict where wildfires could start in California. That means Kettle provides insurance for insurance companies. But Kettle's focus on reinsurance, rather than selling its software directly to insurance companies, is unique, Manning says. Most reinsurers predict wildfire risk through a decades-old technique that relies on historical data, Manning adds. In other words, reinsurance companies do benefit large insurers — but they also make sure you're able to get the money you're owed if disaster strikes.

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