Reinsurance

As the reinsurance industry finds itself changing to meet the growing demand for cedents expanding appetite for risk, a study questions whether current underwriting practices could one day expose reinsurers to a financial debacle.

Munich Re said it was considering launching a fund to allow investors to buy catastrophe bonds and other insurance linked securities to build on the growing demand for the instruments that are linked to natural disasters.

Property and casualty carriers saw employment climb for the sixth straight month in July despite mixed employment numbers from the rest of the insurance industry, according to an Insurance Information Institute analysis of the latest U.S. Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistics figures.

The property and casualty insurance industry is suffering from an unwelcome surprise in its loss portfolio, as areas once perceived to be at low risk for catastrophes are generating costly cat losses, says a Guy Carpenter report.

The property and casualty insurance industry is suffering from an unwelcome surprise in its loss portfolio, as areas once perceived to be at low risk for catastrophes are generating costly cat losses, says a Guy Carpenter report.

Factors in the reinsurance marketplace point to continued moderate rate increases going forward, two reinsurers say as the annual Reinsurance Rendezvous kicks off in Monte Carlo.

The rise of insurance-linked securities has had the effect of flattening the reinsurance-pricing cycle, and preventing rates from rising, according to a former reinsurance executive.

The difference in insurance penetration between the developed and developing world was fully illustrated in August, as the first hurricane striking the U.S. Gulf Coast since 2008 is expected to cost insurers more than two major typhoons that struck China, according to a report from Aon Benfield.