Latin America

Feature: Berkshire Hathaway declares war

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway’s aggressive entry into commercial primary insurance has raised concerns among US insurers about a potential pricing war. Some believe more reinsurers will follow Warren Buffett ‘s lead and target the E&S insurance market.

Reinsurers find LatAm regulation “puzzling”

Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Region Profile: Economic growth, a need for capacity, and diverse investment opportunities lure foreign insurers and reinsurers to Latin America but the region offers challenges from changing regulations, political instability and a shifting reinsurance market.

Berkshire Hathaway credit rating cut to AA

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Berkshire Hathaway's credit rating one notch to AA from AA+ because of its “dependence on its core insurance operations for most of its dividend income”; AA+ financial strength rating affirmed.

Neill Currie to retire as RenaissanceRe CEO

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Kevin O’Donnell to replace RenaissanceRe co-founder Neill Currie as CEO on July 1. Currie will stay on as an advisor to the Bermudian reinsurnace firm until February.

Vote for the Reactions Global Awards 2013

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Have your say on the the best insurance, reinsurance, broking and service provider firms for the Reactions Global Awards 2013. The winners will be anounced at our awards dinner in New York on September 25.

Beazley expands LatAm reinsurance team

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Beazley has made new an appointment to boost its Latin American reinsurance business as part of its global expansion plans.

Buffett needs “stomach” for E&S insurance

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Berkshire Hathaway must be prepared for hard times if it is going to be a successful long-term player in the commercial property/casualty market, according to excess and surplus lines broker Christopher Cavallaro from ARC Excess & Surplus.

Costa Rica: 7 in 11 insurers saw Q1 losses

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

First quarter losses were suffered by seven in eleven Costa Rican insurers, despite the country's premiums jumping 17% in 2012, BNamericas reported.

Marsh offers Mexico organized crime insurance

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The Mexican unit of insurance broker Marsh said is launching a policy that will cover terrorism, organised crime and sabotage, the first such policy available.

Interview: Shah outlines RMS(one) vision

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The CEO of Risk Management Solutions says his firm's new platform is the result of the risk modelling industry reaching an inflection point, while insurance and reinsurance firms welcome the chance to analyse data faster through the cloud.

RMS(one) unveiled as future of cat modelling

Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

RMS reveals RMS(one), which will allow insurance and reinsurance companies to manage all their risk models, exposures and analytics on a single platform. Partners for the platform include ERN, JBA, Risk Frontiers and Aon Benfield’s ReMetrica.

Brazilian reinsurance profits fall

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Brazilian reinsurers had an average combined ratio including retrocession of 104.3% in 2012, just over three percentage points higher than it was in 2011, according to a report by Terra Brasis Resseguros.

Munich Re’s Q1 profit rises 25% to €979m

Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Munich Re expects slight price erosion for such cat reinsurance cover in the US at July 1. The world’s biggest reinsurer said it is continuing to aim for a profit of close to €3bn for the whole year.

AIG P&C units upgraded to A+ by S&P

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

AIG’s property/casualty group has rating upgraded to A+ by rating agency Standard & Poor’s in light of successful restructuring by over the past two years.

Brazilian IPO dominates April capital raising

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurance Capital Raising Data: Insurance debt issuance was down, while equity issuance was up in April, including the world’s largest IPO so far this year with Banco do Brasil’s pensions and insurance arm raising $5.05bn.

Data: April insurance M&A value up to $2.4bn

Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

M&A data: The largest insurance mergers and acquisitions deal in April was Protective Life’s deal to buy the closed blocks of business of Mony Life from Axa for $1.06bn.

Corporate risk intelligence to aid reinsurers

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Comment: Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey holds a lot of lessons for insurance and reinsurance firms behind the headline top risks, including revealing what changes organisations want from carriers, says Reactions contributing editor Garry Booth.

Moody's goes positive on Aon and MMC

Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Insurance brokerages Aon and Marsh & McLennan Companies have ratings put on positive outlook on improved financial leverage.

Ace completes ABA Seguros buy

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Ally Financial takes a $175m pre-closing dividend as part of its deal to sell Mexican personal lines insurer to Ace Limited for $690m.

LatAm market playing cat data catch up

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Feature: Latin America’s insurance and reinsurance markets are growing up fast, but many primary companies active in the region could be at risk of being derailed by a big event. A common complaint is the lack of cat models to quantify risk in the region.

Latin America Awards nominees revealed

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Nominees unveiled for the Reactions Latin America Awards 2013, highlighting the best insurance, reinsurance, brokerage and service provider firms. They will be announced at the 2nd Annual Latin American (Re)insurance Forum in Miami on May 22.

The risk model vendor’s view of LatAm

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Tom Larsen, senior vice-president and product architect at Eqecat, gives a model vendor’s perspective on Latin American cat risk.

Insurance and Reinsurance Legal Survey 2013

Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Reactions reveals the top insurance and reinsurance law firms in the industry. In-house general counsel also reveal what they want to see from their legal partners in the coming year, how legal spend is changing and how fee structures are evolving.

Catastrophe Risk Model Roundtable

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Reactions hosted a roundtable, sponsored by Eqecat, to discuss how catastrophe risk models are evolving and debate how insurance and reinsurance firms should develop their own view of risk rather than solely relying on modelled output.

Marsh: energy risk management demand up

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

A 39% increase in energy consumption in 20 years' time will make the need for greater risk management vital, insurance broker Marsh has argued.

Data: Upstream energy losses in 2012

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Upstream energy insurers’ fears of a large loss last year were not founded, when a potential explosion of the Elgin platform in the North Sea was averted. Losses in the year were considerably less than the still profitable 2011.

Aon reveals top risks for 2013

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Risk managers are struggling to identify and manage the the biggest risks facing their organisations, according to the biannual Aon Global Risk Management Survey. The broker indentifies a decline in "risk readiness".

Data: 2012’s biggest insured losses

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Analysis: Sandy, which Swiss Re places at a $35bn insured loss, topped a costly year for natural catastrophes. The reinsurers’s recent sigma report reveals 2012's largest insured losses as well as the biggest nat cat losses since 1970.

Data: Most costly insurance losses 1970-2012

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

The 40 most costly insurance losses 1970-2012 (in $m at 2012 prices). Source: Swiss Re's sigma "Natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2012: a year of extreme weather events in the US".

Willis notes rise in “dangerous earthquakes”

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT

California is likely to have 6.7 or higher earthquake in the next 30 years, it is predicted, as natural catastrophe risks increase.