L.S. Howard

Top reinsurers are showing increasing – but disciplined – appetite for natural catastrophe risks as a result of rising demand, improved pricing, more favorable terms and conditions, and improving investment income, according to a report published by S&P Global Ratings.

The Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance market reported overall profit before tax of £4.9 billion (US$6.4 billion), a 25.6% increase from the £3.9 billion (US$5.1 billion) reported during H1 2023.

The Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance market reported overall profit before tax of £4.9 billion (US$6.4 billion), a 25.6 percent increase from the £3.9 billion (US$5.1 billion) reported during H1 2023. The combined ratio, which is a key measure of underwriting profitability, improved to 83.7 (from 85.2% in H1 2024), providing Lloyd’s with its best interim … Continued

Now that the market has achieved a first-half profit of £4.9 billion with a combined ratio of 83.7% — its best interim results in 17 years — does this mean the hard market cycle is ending?

Top reinsurers are showing increasing – but disciplined – appetite for natural catastrophe risks as a result of rising demand, better pricing, more favorable terms and conditions, and sound investment income, according to a report published recently by S&P Global Ratings. Most of the 19 largest global reinsurers rated by S&P increased their exposure to … Continued

The heavy rains and severe floods of Storm Boris, which inundated Central and Eastern Europe during the second week in September, will be the most severe

Insurance broker Marsh McLennan reported a 6% increase in third quarter consolidated revenue to $5.7 billion, while revenue increased 5% on an underlying (organic) basis.

Although 2024 has seen significant global natural catastrophe activity, economic costs were slightly below average through the third quarter, according to Gallagher Re’s latest Nat Cat report. The total economic loss from natural perils in the first three quarters of 2024 was at least $280 billion, lower than the recent 10-year Q1-Q3 average of $309 … Continued

AM Best's population of global reinsurance companies posted a return on equity (ROE) of 22% in 2023 – a five-year high that was driven mainly by favorable investment income and strong underwriting performance. The fundamentals are excellent but Hurricanes Helene and Milton “will probably stall any softening of the market cycle,” AM Best said.

Economic losses caused by natural catastrophes reached an estimated US$280 billion in 2023, with US$51.6 billion of that total due to floods, according to Swiss Re Institute.