Welcome to iLeads Insurance Market Minute, where we bring you the latest, most relevant news regarding the insurance market. Last week you were reading Is this the Era of Goliath Versus Goliath in Insurance? This week we’re bringing you:
June renewals bring modest increases for reinsurers*
Reinsurers saw modest increases at June 1 renewals as markets largely remained well-capitalized, while exclusionary language concerning communicable disease and cyber exposures became more pervasive and tighter.
The increases were lower than anticipated, some observers say.
“I don’t think reinsurers are getting what they thought they might be getting” in terms of rate increases, largely due to ample capacity, said Brian O’Neill, partner and client executive with TigerRisk Partners LLC in Tampa, Florida.
Reinsurance executives’ consensus “was that Florida property catastrophe reinsurance rate increases will come in below expectations established last year,” Meyer Shields, Baltimore-based managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, wrote in a note.
Florida renewals will end up at 5% to 10% higher on average, with increases on loss-impacted accounts potentially as high as 20% to 30%, wrote Mr. Shields.
Matt Fitzgerald, managing partner, London and U.S. property, casualty and specialty, for Gallagher Re, the reinsurance unit of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., said property markets were weakest and saw the smallest pricing increases, with much of the casualty sector and specialty markets seeing increases of up to 10%. The top end included aviation and cyber, which he described as a hard market.
Cumulative losses from secondary perils including severe convective storm and wildfire have begun to touch insurers’ lowest reinsurance layers, causing losses to reinsurers, which have responded by tightening up on those lower layers.
Mitigating cyber risks – what can be done?*
Ransomware attacks are headline news almost daily. Victims continually face the dilemma of choosing between paying the ever-higher ransom demands, or prolonging the disruption while they race to recover their data. The consequences of a ransomware attack are not just about monetary losses, and neither is the solution. Ransomware is rampant and affecting the lives of everyday Americans as personal data is stolen, jobs and livelihoods are disrupted, and personal safety is put at risk. What can slow this trend? According to experts at Resilience, a provider of cyber insurance and security solutions to middle-market organizations, the solution can be a human one.
“When we talk about cyber risks in general and ransomware in particular, it’s all about behaviors,” says Vishaal Hariprasad, chief executive officer of Resilience. “My time as a cyber warfare officer [in the US Air Force] taught me that cyber threats really come down to human beings deliberately creating crimeware. Cyber criminals continue to exploit new vulnerabilities which means that their targets should constantly change the behaviors that keep them vulnerable. As a defender, in or out of uniform, I want to help affect behavioral changes.”
Hariprasad, more commonly referred to as “V8,” (his military buddies likened his enthusiasm for problem-solving to a high-performance engine always revving) believes cyber defenses must innovate and adapt.
Business Insurance extends nominations for US Insurance Awards*
Due to multiple requests, Business Insurance has extended nominations to June 8 for the 2021 U.S. Insurance Awards.
The awards program highlights exceptional work by insurance professionals working at companies across the commercial insurance industry, from retail brokers to third-party administrators, insurers, risk managers and others.
A fundraising program associated with the awards was created to address the industry’s talent crisis by funding the Business Insurance Scholarship Endowment.
The 2021 U.S. Insurance Awards will honor teams of professionals working on specific projects in 10 categories. Anyone familiar with a team’s work can submit a nomination.
All nominations will be reviewed by a panel of Business Insurance editors who will select finalists in each category. The finalists will be assessed by a panel of up to 100 professional risk managers, and the winners will be announced at a virtual awards event on Sept. 30.
The 10 categories are:
- Broker Team of the Year
- Community Outreach Project of the Year — Pro Bono and Volunteer
- Community Outreach Project of the Year — Donations
- Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year
- Insurance Consulting Team of the Year
- Insurance Underwriting Team of the Year
- Legal Team of the Year
- Risk Management Team of the Year
- TPA Team of the Year
- Wholesale Brokerage Team of the Year
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