Insurance Jottings

Escalating US / Iran tensions bring further premium hikes across multiple lines

Insurance premiums are expected to escalate further across numerous lines on the back of rising tensions between the US and Iran.

 

Lloyd’s confirms insurance classes for modernised syndication pilot

As part of the Future at Lloyd’s strategy, the market and the board of the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) confirmed that the modernised syndication pilot will start with marine hull and international casualty classes, and begin either late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2020.

 

Talanx buys another solar farm in Spain

European insurance group The Talanx Group is buying another solar park in Spain.

 

The seller is BayWa r.e., a company of the BayWa Group, Munich, to whom Talanx had transferred operational management of its onshore wind farm portfolio in June 2019.

 

UK Financial Services Firms Pay Record Taxes with Future Prospects Clouded by Brexit

Britain’s financial industry paid a record near-US$100 billion in taxes in the year to March, reaffirming its central role in funding the state at a time when its future prospects have been clouded by Brexit.

 

The £75.5 billion (US$99.2 billion) raised equated to one pound in ten of all UK tax receipts, the City of London Corporation said in a report on the 7th January, adding that this month’s UK departure from the European Union would impact future contributions.

 

With Prime Minister Boris Johnson yet to start trade negotiations with the EU he says must be concluded during a transition period that ends in December, the industry is still waiting to see how much direct access it will have in future to the bloc, its biggest export market.

 

The sector is the economy’s most important, employing 1.1 million people nationwide.

 

Patchy access could see an acceleration of the minimal moves so far by Britain-based staff of banks, insurers and asset managers to over 300 new hubs set up inside the EU, denting the City’s global role.

 

“Legislative changes, technological innovation and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit are all expected to have some impact on the total tax contributions of the sector,” the report compiled by consultants PwC for the City said.

 

Buoyant contributions from finance will be critical for a UK government re-elected last month on promises of increased spending on healthcare.

 

With Brexit looming “the UK must remain competitive to safeguard the sector’s employment base and significant tax contribution,” added Catherine McGuinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, the municipal authority for the financial district.

 

“It will play a critical role in fuelling our economic success after we leave the European Union.”

 

The City is pressing the government to avoid making it harder to recruit internationally after Brexit. Banks have also called for cuts in taxes, including a levy introduced after Britain bailed out lenders during the financial crisis.

 

Financial sector workers generated an average of £31,463 in total employment taxes, the annual tax report – the City’s 12th – said, well above the average UK salary in the economy overall.

 

The latest receipts compared with a then record £75 billion in the year to March 2018.

(US$1 = GBP0.7613)

 

Thomas Miller Specialty concludes purchase of Lodestar Marine’s book of business

Commercial MGA Thomas Miller Specialty has concluded the purchase of Lodestar Marine’s book of business.

 

Victor Insurance forms new Lloyd’s syndicate with support from Asta

Victor Insurance Holdings, one of the biggest managing general underwriters, has received approval from Lloyd’s to establish Victor Syndicate 2288 and commence underwriting effective the 1st January 2020 with stamp capacity of £57 million, supporting a business plan of US$100 million.

 

Victor Syndicate 2288 will support Victor’s underwriting of property/casualty business in the US, UK, Italy, and the Netherlands.

 

The syndicate will also provide opportunities for capital partners to participate in risks underwritten by its underwriting hubs in Boulder, Colorado, London, Rotterdam and Milan.

 

Asta will be the managing agent for the new syndicate, providing underwriting oversight and operational support. Asta currently manages ten Lloyd’s syndicates and has experience with start-up syndicates. Julian Tighe, CEO of Asta, said this is Asta’s second launch at Lloyd’s this year.

 

Anthony Stevens, president, Victor International, who joined the firm in May, said Lloyd’s “digital-forward approach” aligns well with Victor’s digital capabilities and its international expansion plans.

 

In the US, the syndicate will support the needs of small commercial properties in catastrophe-exposed areas that is now handles through its subsidiary, ICAT, a US-based managing general agent that focuses on property risks for small-and-medium-sized enterprises.

 

Jill Frances will be the active underwriter for Victor Syndicate 2288. She will also assume the role of chief Underwriting and Operations officer for Victor International. Ms Frances reports to Stevens and relocated to London this year. Ms Frances was formerly managing director for Victor US and brings more than 20 years of experience in specialty underwriting, recently running the professional liability division.

 

Victor Insurance Holdings, formerly known as The Schinnerer Group, has locations in the US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Australia. It handles US$1.6 billion in premium on behalf of numerous insurance carriers, through 25,000 insurance agents and brokers.

 

The Schinnerer Group’s businesses started using the Victor brand over this year, and combined to operate as a global entity. The companies include Victor O. Schinnerer & Company in the US, ENCON in Canada, Bluefin Underwriting in the UK, Mees & Zoonen in Italy and the Netherlands and Schinnerer’s operation in Bermuda.

 

Recent acquisitions, ICAT and Dovetail Insurance, are also part of the Victor global business but retain their original names.