Latest Emerging Risks Headlines

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

Zurich Insurance Says ‘Confident’ on Profitability Measure

Oct 31 2013 // Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest insurer [3rd largest in Europe], said it is still “confident” its non-life unit can improve a profitability target with cost cutting after it announced in...

Swiss Re Sees Emerging Market Construction Boosting Premiums

Oct 31 2013 // Swiss Re Ltd., the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, estimates $43 trillion in infrastructure investments related to urbanization in emerging markets through 2030 may translate into $68 billion in premiums for...

Munich Re Stresses Need for Nat Cat Coverage in Emerging Markets

Oct 30 2013 // According to a scientific study conducted by the University of Würzburg on the basis of loss data from Munich Re’s NatCatSERVICE database, “emerging countries are excessively affected by losses from natural...

Reinsurers Get Down to Business in Baden-Baden; Willis Re Chairman Comments

Oct 21 2013 // “I don’t think there have been any big changes between Monte Carlo and Baden-Baden,” said James Vickers, chairman of Willis Re International. This isn’t that surprising, given that the two...

Managing Nanotechnology and Other Emerging Risks

Oct 21 2013 // Insurers need to learn how to manage new risks, not just exclude them, and actuaries can help. Since the mid-1980s, casualty insurance has shrunk as a share of gross domestic product. Insurers have been able to push...

Swiss Re’s Head of Casualty Jayne Plunkett Explains Why It’s a ‘Social Science’

Oct 8 2013 // Jayne Plunkett, possibly the second most well-known person from Iowa after Bill Bryson, heads Swiss Re’s International casualty reinsurance operations. In the interview she explains that, as you’re dealing with...

Industry Pioneer Catlin on Insurance and Environmental Concerns

Sep 27 2013 // Stephen J.O. Catlin has led the company/group that bears his name since 1984. He’s seen it grow into the biggest syndicate at Lloyd’s with gross premiums written of $5.5 billion. He was the first to move the...

Alternative Capital Dominates Discussions at Reinsurance Rendez-vous

Sep 11 2013 // The 57th Reinsurance Rendez-vous is winding down, and, while it’s been another successful networking opportunity for the re/insurance industry’s movers and shakers, most of the discussions have ended on a note...

UK’s Ascent Launches General Liability Coverage for SME’s

Aug 22 2013 // UK-based Ascent Underwriting, a Managing General Agent (MGA) specializing in emerging risks, has launched a general liability coverage extension to further enhance the cover provided to small and mid-market business...

Overcoming the Fear of Insuring Emerging Risks

Jul 22 2013 // For an industry that depends on lots of data to develop products and price them according to risk, the insurance industry finds covering new and emerging risks to be no easy task. Carriers try to address new risks,...

How Casualty Actuaries Help Insurers Manage Nanotech, Other Emerging Risks

Jul 16 2013 // Casualty actuaries can help insurers meet the demand for new products by identifying, analyzing and pricing new risks, according to two speakers at the srping meeting of the Casualty Actuarial Society. Since the mid-1980s,...

Swiss Re sigma Study Finds Global Insurance Premium Growth at 2.4%

Jun 26 2013 // Swiss Re’s latest sigma study reveals that “total global premiums written increased by 2.4 percent in real terms in 2012 to $4.613 trillion. Life premiums expanded by 2.3 percent unwinding some of the...

Solar Storm Threats Pose Emerging Risk for Industry: Lloyd’s

Jun 17 2013 // A large solar storm could leave tens of millions of people in North America without electrical power for several months, if not years, potentially costing trillions of dollars. That’s according to Lloyd’s...

XL Launches Unit Dedicated to Reinsurance in Emerging Global Markets

Jun 4 2013 // XL Group announced that it is expanding its reinsurance operations with the creation of a “dedicated Reinsurance Global Emerging Markets unit to optimize development in these markets.” XL has named Philippe...

Lloyd’s Report Highlights Solar Storm Threat as Emerging Risk

May 23 2013 // “A large solar storm could leave tens of millions of people in North America without electrical power for several months, if not years, potentially costing trillions of dollars,” according to Lloyd’s...

S&P Assesses Insurance Industry and Country Risk Shaping Insurance Markets

May 23 2013 // A report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services notes that “for the two main insurance sectors, life and property/casualty (P/C), overall industry and country risks are, on average, much lower in developed...

Emerging Markets to Lead in Insurance Growth: Munich Re

May 17 2013 // Emerging markets will see the highest growth in premiums for insurance companies this year and next, while Europe lags, according to the world’s biggest reinsurer, Munich Re. In a study published on Thursday, Munich...

BRICS to Endorse Plans for Reserves Pool, Development Bank

Mar 22 2013 // Leaders of the world’s major emerging economies are likely to endorse plans at a summit next week to create a joint foreign exchange reserves pool and an infrastructure bank, senior emerging market officials said on...

Aon Unveils 2013 Interactive Political Risk Map; Focus on Emerging Markets

Mar 19 2013 // To complement its print version, Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, has unveiled a new online and interactive political risk map with data going back more than 15 years. Aon explained the...

RSA Posts $1.047 Billion 2012 Operating Profit; 5% Premium Growth

Feb 20 2013 // The UK’s RSA posted a solid operating profit of £684 million [$1.047 billion], compared to £727 million [$1.113 billion in 2011; while registering a five percent increase in net written premiums to £8.353 billion...