natural catastrophes News

Munich Re Issues First Quarter Profit Warning on Lower Equity Investments

Munich Re, the world’s second-biggest reinsurer, fell the most since August 2013 after saying first-quarter profit will be lower than it previously expected. Earnings for the quarter will also be lower than a year earlier after market turmoil caused the …

Ecuador to Raise Taxes, Sell Assets to Fund Multi-Billion Dollar Quake Rebuilding

Ecuador will temporarily increase some taxes, sell assets, and may issue new bonds on the international market to fund a multi-billion dollar reconstruction after a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, a somber President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday [April 20]. The …

XL Catlin Exec Heads Public-Private Forum to Close ‘Protection Gap’ for Disasters

The insurance industry, the United Nations and the World Bank have formed a public-private partnership designed to help bridge the “protection gap” for developing nations, which struggle increasingly from the burden of uninsured economic losses after natural disasters. The Insurance …

Top Exposures Facing Global Middle Market Firms Vary by Region: Assurex Survey

While all middle market businesses across the world have concerns about cyber risk, few of these firms view it as their biggest exposure, according to a global survey* of 68 leading independent insurance brokers, which gauged the concerns of their …

Strong Reinsurer Results Hide Difficult Business Conditions: S&P, Fitch Reports

Weak business conditions in the reinsurance industry are being masked by a low level of catastrophes and a high level of reserve releases, said Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services and Fitch Ratings in new reports. “Stripping out these two factors, …

Allianz Q4 2015 Profit Rises to $1.6B on Cat Claims; Lower Than Analyst Estimates

Allianz SE missed analyst estimates for fourth-quarter profit because of claims from natural catastrophes. Net income at Europe’s biggest insurer increased to 1.42 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the quarter from 1.22 billion euros [$1.3 billion] a year earlier, the …

Reinsurers’ Loss Reserves Dwindle While Rates Continue to Drop: Allianz Re CEO

Reinsurers are running out of claims reserves that they can release to boost profits as pricing continues to fall, according to the head of Allianz SE’s reinsurance unit. “I don’t think there are too many loss reserves left and the …

Insured Nat Cat Losses 31% Below Average During 2015: Aon Benfield Report

Global natural disasters in 2015 caused a combined total insured loss of $35 billion – 31 percent below the 15-year average of $51 billion and the lowest annual insured loss total since 2009, said a report issued by Impact Forecasting, …

El Niño Helped Reduce Natural Catastrophe Losses in 2015: Munich Re

Insurers paid out around $27 billion for natural disaster claims last year with weather causing 94 percent of incidents, underscoring the challenge posed by climate change, data from reinsurer Munich Re showed on Monday. While the climate phenomenon known as …

Swiss Re 2015 Economic Cat Loss Initial Estimates = $85Bn; $32Bn Insured

Swiss Re’s latest sigma report preliminarily estimates that total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters will reach approximately $85 billion in 2015. Insured losses, however, were just $32 billion. In total, approximately 26,000 people lost their lives in …