AM Best report News

A.M. Best: Global Re Stocks Underperform as Catastrophe Prices Drop

Stocks for publicly traded reinsurance companies (including the four large European reinsurers) performed well below the overall market through the third quarter of 2014, driven in part by the increased volatility in the overall equity markets and amplified by continued …

A.M. Best Comments on Results of EIOPA’s Insurance Stress Test

A.M. Best said it would be premature to draw negative conclusions from the most recent Solvency II stress tests conducted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and does not anticipate any rating implications at this stage. In …

A.M. Best Report: Last Resort Insurers Welcome Catastrophe Bond Market

The convergence market has provided an opportunity for entities that act as insurers of last resort to transfer some of their peak exposures to the capital markets, according to a Best’s Special Report titled, “Last Resort Insurers Welcome Relief From …

A.M. Best: Asia-Pacific M&As Driven by Top-Line Growth Prospects

The Asia-Pacific region has been a popular destination for mergers and acquisitions, driven by top-line growth prospects for many still-developing markets with low insurance penetration, according to a Best’s Special Report titled, “Asia-Pacific Mergers and Acquisitions Seen as More Balanced, …

A.M. Best: Saudi Market Returning to Profitability

The Saudi insurance market continued its strong growth over the first half of 2014 with gross written premium expanding 24 percent compared with the first half of 2013, according to a new Best’s briefing. The briefing, titled, “Saudi Market Rebounds …

Global Reinsurer Stocks Face Challenges in 2014: Best Special Report

A new report from A.M. Best determined that “stocks for publicly traded reinsurance companies, including the four top European players, performed below the overall market for the first quarter of 2014, declining 1.3 percent, likely due to continued concerns over …

Best Finds Gulf Growth Outpacing Developed and Other Emerging Markets

A new report from A.M. Best concludes that “growth rates in the insurance markets of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries remain higher than those of developed markets and have kept pace with those of some key emerging markets. The GCC …

Best’s Report on Latin America Insurance Market Highlights Growth

A newly issued report from A.M. Best cites Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) statistics, showing that “Latin American countries had an estimated population of 581 million in 2012 and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $5.4 trillion.” In addition the …

Best Report: European Insurers See Improvements; Challenges Remain

European non-life and life insurers “are benefitting from a more stable economic environment, although they continue to adjust product offerings and adapt reinsurance purchasing in response to the low-yield environment as they increase their focus on risk management,” according to …

Best Expresses Concerns over London Market Placement Deals

A.M. Best has been studying the recent innovation in the London insurance market, exemplified by the arrangement between Aon and Berkshire Hathaway announced in March, which automatically shares a percentage of premiums between brokers and insurers. In Best’s opinion this …