AM Best
Top 50 Reinsurers 2021: Global reinsurance segment marked by stability and uncertainty
Diversification into primary insurance leads to shuffle among the world’s largest reinsurance groups AM Best's Catherine Thomas and Mathilde Jakobsen explain.
Top 100 UK Insurers 2021
Covid-19 had the biggest impact on insurers in 2020. Commercial lines insurers suffered while personal lines insurers broadly benefited according to William Keen-Tomlinson, senior financial analyst in London for AM Best.
The top 30 European Insurers 2021: A turbulent time
The impact of Covid-19 saw the European non-life insurance market report a decline in gross written premium and profit after tax. Mathilde Jakobsen, director, analytics, Amsterdam, AM Best, analyses the numbers and reports on the movements in the ranking…
Intelligence: CSR is dead, long live ESG
Although environmental, social, and governance issues have been mentioned as far back as 2006 by the United Nations with other sectors seeing it incorporated into their financial evaluations, insurance is only recently picking up the buzzword. Post…
Colonial Pipeline: Cyber attack must be a 'wake up call' for insurance sector
The ransomware cyber-attack on the Colonial Pipeline that led to a shutdown of the 5500-mile-long fuel pipeline in the US should be a “wake up call” for all businesses and the insurance market, according to experts.
Blog: MGAs and the shift in the insurance industry distribution ecosystem
The number of delegated underwriting authority enterprises has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. David Blades, associate director of industry research and analytics at AM Best, explains why this is and what this means for the market.
Ratings agencies stable on CNA after cyber attack
AM Best and Fitch have both maintained their ratings for CNA Financial Corporation with a stable outlook after the insurer suffered a sophisticated cybersecurity attack on 21 March.
Analysis: Deconstructing Aviva
With a new group CEO in role, Aviva has made serious strides in offloading its overseas operations. What inspired these moves and what does this mean for its core operations in the UK, Ireland and Canada?
Ratings agencies see ‘meaningful debate’ between insurers and reinsurers over Covid-19 recoveries
Experts have reiterated that insurer ratings are unlikely to be hit by the outcome of the Supreme Court’s Covid-19 business interruption claims ruling but noted that there will “meaningful debate” over how much insurers can claim from their reinsurers.
Intelligence: State insurance - The last resort
The global pandemic of 2020 saw insurers stepping back from coverage in some areas of the market and led to calls of a Pandemic Re backed by the government. Post asks if the government can and should step into the void as the insurer of last resort
Analysis: The class of 2020 emerges
The emergence of a cluster of start up and scale up carriers, or a class of 2020, caught analysts by surprise despite the hardening market.
Top 30 Asia-Pacific Insurers: Bracing for uncertainty
Although non-life insurers in Asia performed modestly in 2019, the past nine months has been bumpy for the industry. Christie Lee, senior director of analytics for Asia-Pacific at AM Best, discusses the region’s performance over the past year
The Top 100 UK Insurers 2020
A ranking of the top 100 Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated UK insurance companies, with each business broken down by gross written premium, net written premium, underwriting result, retention ratio, solvency capital requirement and SCR Ratio.
Editor's comment: What a difference a year makes
I’m a firm believer that even when you are facing your darkest days things will be better on the other side and good things will always follow.
Top 100 UK Insurers 2020
The 100 largest UK-regulated insurers reported a combined underwriting profit in 2019, albeit lower than in 2018. Bond yields fell in 2019, however, investment earnings benefited from the strong performance of equity markets. How will the impact of the…
Top 30 European Insurers 2020: A year of profit
The top 30 European insurers saw growth in non-life premiums in 2019 and overall profit after tax was significantly higher than in 2018. Mathilde Jakobsen, director, analytics, AM Best, explains what the market is facing
Analysis: Beirut blast – cost of humanitarian crisis could top $10bn
The explosion in Beirut, Lebanon at around 6pm local time on Tuesday 4 August tragically killed at least 157 people and wounded another 5000, with more than a hundred still missing as rescue efforts continue.
Analysis: The Covid crunch in insurer results
With analysts cautioning the Covid crunch will begin to bite insurers in the second quarter of 2020, Post investigates what impact the coronavirus pandemic has already had in the first quarter
Analysis: Constructing Pandemic Re
The insurance industry stands ready to participate in the creation of a Pandemic Re vehicle but opinions differ on how it would work.
Ratings agencies assessing coronavirus impact on insurers' balance sheets
Ratings agencies have moved to assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on insurers. Among them is AM Best, which is developing stress tests that will assess the impact on insurance companies’ balance sheets.
Q&A: Gary Humphreys, Markerstudy
Markerstudy’s group underwriting director, Gary Humphreys, discusses taking a pause on commercial business, progress on the Co-op Insurance buy, debt, making further acquisitions and the rated versus unrated debate as well as backing MGAs and the future…
Markerstudy not 'exercised' by May debt deadline
Markerstudy is in discussions with Qatar Re over the repayment of its $316m (£244m) loan ahead of the next deadline of May this year, group underwriting director Gary Humphreys told Post.
This month in Post: Thomas Cook-up
In a week that was dominated by personal injury fracas, the revelation that Thomas Cook self-insured against all but the “very largest” PI claims may well take the cake for biggest botch up.
Top 30 Asia Insurers: A volatile year
2018 was a volatile year for Asian insurers with the majority of them posting declines in gross written premium or sluggish growth. Christie Lee, senior director of analytics for Asia-Pacific at AM Best, explains the challenges they are facing.