Reinsurance

AXIS Capital Holdings’ expected financial impact of $285 million from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami headlines the latest round of loss estimates from Bermuda companies.

In recent years, the use of engineered nanomaterials in consumer products like sunscreen, cosmetics, clothing and baby products has soared. As a result, substantial concern has developed because these tiny materials are often made of toxic substances, and closely resemble asbestos fibers.

The value of insurance-linked-securities (ILS) placements increased by more than half in the 2011 first quarter as four insurers placed more than $1 billion in bonds in the market, according to a report from Willis Group.

With chatter about the next market turn heating up, it’s a good time to explore the impact on program business to see if there could be a replay of the gut-wrenching turmoil that left some program administrators (PA) out in the cold during the last soft-to-hard transition.

The legislation reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program, passed by a House panel last week, clearly opens the door for reinsurers to play a strong role in the program.

With chatter about the next market turn heating up, experienced niche-market participants don’t anticipate a replay of the gut-wrenching turmoil that left some program administrators out in the cold during the last turn. But that doesn’t mean program books won’t need to be mended or that some carrier retrenchment from...