Market News
A.M. Best: US Property-Casualty Rating Actions Mixed in First Half
A new special report from A.M. Best finds that credit rating activity for US property-casualty insurers was mixed in the first half of 2020, with upgrades slightly outnumbering downgrades. Approximately 25 percent of the 17 upgrades during the period were due to affiliations or mergers, the rating agency said. Read More
CCRIF SPC Expands Coverage to Private Sector with New Utility Product
CCRIF SPC is expanding its coverage to the private sector with a new parametric insurance product developed for the electric utility industry in the Caribbean. CCRIF currently provides parametric insurance coverage for tropical cyclones, earthquakes, excess rainfall, and the fisheries sector to 19 Caribbean governments and 3 in Central America. Read More
Hardening Traditional Market Drives New Captive Insurance Formations
Formations of new captive insurance companies are flowing amid hardening conditions in the traditional market with the growth trend expected to continue in 2021. For example, Vermont, the largest US domicile with 595 licensed captives, has already licensed 25 new captives so far this year. Read More
Best Sees Pandemic Highlighting Weaknesses in Insurers' ERM Programs
The COVID-19 pandemic underscores weaknesses in insurers’ enterprise risk management (ERM) efforts, according to a new special report from A.M. Best. The report notes that, while ERM has evolved rapidly, the pandemic has emphasized that “unknown unknowns” and “unexpected accumulations” that can affect insurers and reinsurers remain. Read More
New Captive.com White Paper Focuses on Pandemic and Captives
Captive.com and International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI), have created a special 12-page report examining the COVID-19 pandemic's implications for the captive insurance industry. The new whitepaper, “The COVID-19 Pandemic: Opportunities and Implications for Captive Insurance,” is available free to Captive Wire subscribers. Read More