Articles by L.S. Howard

Hedge Fund Manager Loeb Agrees to Hold Off Attempts to Take SiriusPoint Private

Hedge Fund Manager Daniel S. Loeb has agreed he will not make further attempts to take SiriusPoint private for two more years. SiriusPoint and Loeb, who has about a 9.5% shareholding in the Bermuda-based specialty insurer and reinsurer, have entered …

Severe Convective Storms Top Insured Natural Disaster Losses in H1: Swiss Re

Global natural catastrophes cost insurers US$50 billion in the first half, (H1 2022: $48 billion), with most of the losses stemming from severe convective storms, according to Swiss Re. “Severe convective storms – storms associated with thunder, lightning, heavy rain, …

Specialty P/C Insurers Outperform Their U.S. Peers: Report

U.S. property/casualty insurers that focused on difficult to place risks distanced themselves from their peers in key metrics measuring earnings, underwriting profitability, balance sheet growth and other indicators of success, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Kinsale Insurance Co., the …

Diverging Cyber Cat Model Results Challenge Underwriters’ Risk Analysis: Guy Carpenter

Significant progress has been made in advancing vendor’s cyber catastrophe models, but a notable degree of variability exists across model outputs, which can pose a challenge to insurance and reinsurance companies as they formulate their views of risk, according to …

Global Natural Disasters Cost Insurers $43B in H1, Surpassing 10-Yr Average: Munich Re

Natural disasters during the first half of 2023 cost insurers an estimated US$43 billion with an overall economic price tag of $110 billion, according to Munich Re. These insured losses were slightly lower than the US$47 billion reported for the …

Reinsurance Execs From Convex, Swiss Re Set Pacific Record in World’s Toughest Row

Reinsurance executives from Convex Group Ltd. and Swiss Re completed The World’s Toughest Row, a race from California to Hawaii, breaking a world record as the fastest mixed-gender crew in history to complete the trip in 34 days, 8 hours …

Specialty P/C Insurers Outperform Their U.S. Peers: Report

U.S. property/casualty insurers that focused on difficult to place risks distanced themselves from their peers in key metrics measuring earnings, underwriting profitability, balance sheet growth and other indicators of success, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Kinsale Insurance Co., the …

Higher Reserving Uncertainties Could Sustain Hard Market Conditions: Report

Systemic shocks related to the recent pandemic, the war in Ukraine, natural catastrophe losses and elevated inflation have raised questions about reserve adequacy for property/casualty insurers, according to a Swiss Re report. These recent shocks have pushed up claims and …

Liberty Mutual Announces Organizational Changes, Leading to 370 US Job Losses

Liberty Mutual Insurance announced major organizational changes and executive leadership appointments, which are aimed at enhancing its personal and small commercial lines business in long-term strategic markets. Approximately 370 jobs will be lost in the US as a result of …

Climate Change Leads to ‘Arctic Opening,’ Creating Key Emerging Risk: Swiss Re

Climate change is the cause of a key emerging risk identified by Swiss Re’s SONAR report, which is leading to the opening of previously frozen waterways in the Arctic and the creation of new shipping and trade routes. The economic …