Reinsurance

Global reinsurers may struggle to replenish capital if they suffer large catastrophe losses in the current financial market and economic environment, Fitch Ratings said today.

Florida's beleaguered reinsurance program is showing signs of improvement, but the fortunes of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund) this year may still depend more on the weather than anything manmade.

U.S. reinsurers took a beating in their surplus during the first half, seeing a drop of $6.9 billion from last year--down 9.5 percent to $65.9 billion in 2009, according to the Reinsurance Association of America.

First-half 2009 financial results for p&c insurers and reinsurers in Bermuda saw two of the smallest players "moving on" after failing to bulk up with a second-quarter acquisition and demonstrating stronger premium growth than their Bermuda counterparts.

With the United States at the epicenter of a recession fueled by the mortgage and credit market crises, ripples are still being felt in the global reinsurance market.

Operators of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico may have breathed a big sigh of relief as they eyed the easterly track of Hurricane Bill recently because many drastically shrank their hurricane coverage programs, insurance executives reported late last month.