Market News

Country Risk Assessment Reports providing economic, political, and financial system risk assessments on 129 countries were released by A.M. Best. A.M. Best determines country risk levels by assessing country-specific factors that could adversely affect an insurer's ability to meet its financial obligations. Country risk is evaluated and factored into all A.M. Best ratings. Read More

The North Carolina captive insurance conference kicked off Monday in Charlotte with a captives 101 session in the afternoon followed by an opening plenary session in the early evening. Distinguished service awards were given to Jeremy Colombik, president of Management Services International, and Martin Eveleigh, chairman of Atlas Insurance Management. Read More

Transfer pricing is the number one international tax issue facing multinational enterprises. For tax purposes, transfer prices should be determined in accordance with the arm's-length principle. The arm's-length principle also applies to captive insurance and whether insurance premiums paid to a captive insurance company are arm's length or not. Read More

A survey by the Lloyd's Market Association of Lloyd's managing agents found that 80 percent of Lloyd's agencies want insurance-linked securities (ILS) as a permanent re/insurance market fixture. Of those surveyed, 100 percent believe ILS transactions will widen to cover more risks, including cyber and legacy business. Read More

The latest risk appetite survey from Willis Towers Watson confirmed that risk appetite is increasingly central to insurers' business decisions. The survey found that, more and more, insurers are using reinsurance for earnings protection and volatility reduction. Read More