Market News
US Property-Casualty Rating Actions Increased Slightly in First Half
The number of upgrades and downgrades of US property and casualty (P&C) insurers' credit ratings experienced a modest increase during the first half of 2021 versus the same period a year ago, according to A.M. Best. P&C insurer rating actions increased to 347 from 332 during the first half of 2020. Read More
First-Half Insurance-Linked Securities Issuance Sets Half-Year Record
The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market saw $8.5 billion in new issuance during the first half of 2021, a half-year record, according to a new report from Swiss Re. The report, "Insurance-Linked Securities Market Insights," noted that many new ILS issues during the year's first half were oversubscribed and were upsized. Read More
Risk Retention Groups Saw Significant Premium Growth in 2020
Risk retention groups' (RRGs) premium volume increased significantly in 2020, according to the Risk Retention Reporter. RRGs' gross premiums climbed to nearly $3.84 billion last year, a nearly 7.2 percent increase from 2019, when RRGs generated just over $3.58 billion in gross premiums. Read More
Gallagher To Acquire Willis Towers Watson Reinsurance Business
Willis Towers Watson (WTW) and Arthur J. Gallagher have reached an agreement for Gallagher to purchase WTW's treaty reinsurance brokerage operations. Under the agreement, Gallagher will acquire the Willis Re operations for a $3.25 billion upfront cash consideration plus an additional consideration of $750 million, subject to certain third-year revenue targets. Read More
Insurance Premiums Continued To Increase Across Most Lines in July
Year-over-year, all commercial insurance lines except workers compensation experienced an increase in average premium renewal rate in July, according to the IVANS Index, a regular premium renewal rate index compiled by the IVANS insurance exchange service. Read More