Latest Reinsurance Headlines

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

S&P Advises Floods Could Lead to Ratings Actions on Midwest-Focused Insurers

Jul 11 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it does not expect the 2008 Midwest floods to impact ratings or outlooks for the majority of companies that it rates.However, property/casualty writers that are...

Interview: N.Y.’s Dinallo Sees Insurance Exchange Open by 2009

Jul 8 2008 // New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said Monday a revival of the defunct New York Insurance Exchange could happen as early as next year.Dinallo, in a telephone interview from New York, said the next 18 months...

N.Y. Gov. Paterson Supports Easing Rules for Foreign Reinsurers

Jul 7 2008 // New York will ease regulatory barriers that are “openly discriminating” against foreign reinsurers, Democratic Gov. David Paterson told reporters.Paterson, the state’s first black governor, who is also...

Japan: Risk and Rewards

Jul 7 2008 // The Japanese property and casualty insurance market is ripe for opportunities, but there also are significant risks in the country, according to Keiji Fukasawa of Finrex Japan and Rie Hidaka of Swiss Reinsurance Co.P/C...

Willis Re Releases Annual Renewals Report

Jul 2 2008 // Willis Group Holdings Limited has released its annual reinsurance renewals report for July 2008. Titled – “Whose Cycle is it Anyway?” – the report found that,”while softening in the...

S&P: Affirms QBE’s Ratings; Praetorian Upgraded to Core Status

Jul 2 2008 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has affirmed its insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on holding company QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (currently rated ‘A-‘) and QBE’s core...

Fitch Places XL on Rating Watch Negative

Jul 1 2008 // Fitch Ratings has placed the ratings of XL Capital Ltd. and its P/C (re)insurance subsidiaries, including the Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) rating of lead (re)insurance companies XL...

Middle East/Africa Ratings Recap: Trust Re, Arab Orient, Leadway, E. Africa Re, Africa Re

Jun 30 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “a-” of Bahrain-based Trust International Insurance & Reinsurance Company...

Cat Bond Sales Seen Slowing

Jun 27 2008 // Catastrophe bonds, which allow investors to make bets on disaster, have thrived in recent years, but a number of factors are seen cooling this obscure part of the debt market in 2008.The growth of catastrophe, or...

N.Y. Governor Supports Easing Rules for Foreign Reinsurers

Jun 27 2008 // New York will hire more minority- and women-owned debt underwriters, lawyers and risk managers and ease regulatory barriers that are “openly discriminating” against foreign reinsurers, Democratic Gov. David...

ACE Comments on Impact of Midwest Floods on Crop Insurance Results

Jun 24 2008 // Bermuda-based ACE Limited has announced that, based on current estimates, the impact of the recent floods in the Midwestern U.S. “will have a negligible impact on both second quarter and full-year earnings per share...

Marsh’s Aviation Reinsurance Team to Join Guy Carpenter

Jun 24 2008 // Marsh has announced that its aviation reinsurance team will join Guy Carpenter, also an MMC company, which specializes in all aspects of reinsurance, by the end of 2008.When the process is completed, 29 Marsh colleagues...

Willis Names Black to Lead Brazilian Re Operations

Jun 23 2008 // Willis International Holdings announced the appointment of Margo Black as CEO for the group’s reinsurance operations in Brazil. She will be primarily responsible for the technical and sales development of wholesale...

Reinsurers Wary of Low Returns, Reserving Trends, Storms to Come

Jun 23 2008 // Two consecutive years of record earnings in the property and casualty insurance industry driven by lower catastrophe losses and healthy investment returns, along with unforeseen risks brought on by the subprime mortgage...

Marsh Previews Report on Captives; Finds Higher Retentions

Jun 19 2008 // Marsh has released key findings from its Financial Institutions – Captive Benchmarking Analysis report, to be published in September. The bulletin described the study as the “most in-depth review of the use of...

S&P: Pros And Cons of a U.S. Federal Natural Catastrophe Backstop

Jun 18 2008 // Because of a natural catastrophe’s high cost to society, some believe that the U.S. federal government should provide a program to backstop losses for natural catastrophes, said an article published by Standard...

French Govt. Reinsurer Gets Highest ‘A++’ Rating from Best

Jun 17 2008 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A++’ (Superior) from ‘A+’ (Superior) and the issuer credit rating to “aa+” from “aa” of French government...

California Regulator Says Insurance Needs Local Regulation, More Modernization

Jun 16 2008 // Insurance is best regulated at the local level. That’s the opinion of California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, who shared his views during his welcome address to the National Association of Insurance...

Good Time to Lock in Property Insurance Pricing, Advise Brokers

Jun 16 2008 // Science and technology are converging with risk management to help insurers negotiate the current hurricane season such that it’s now possible to use short-term hurricane forecasts — as few as 10 days out...

Analysts: Insurers Equipped to Weather Subprime Mortgage Crisis

Jun 12 2008 // Insurers continue to emerge from the credit crisis with strength and are among the least impacted of all financial institutions, according to a senior ratings agency official speaking at the Casualty Actuarial...