PricewaterhouseCoopers recently published 'Emerging from the storm: The day after tomorrow for insurance' the latest in its 'day after tomorrow' perspective series. It examines how the lasting impact of the financial crisis is set to reshape the insurance and reinsurance industry over the next three to five years.

Views on the future of reinsurance fell into two polarised camps. One school of thought believes that reinsurance demand will revert to pre-crisis levels and may even increase as primary insurers in the markets most affected by the crisis seek to transfer more risk. The other view predicts a far rockier ride.

Reinsurers are facing added complexities and challenges never encountered before, such as pleasing stricter rating agencies and keeping track of layered business transactions. However, companies such as Transamerica Reinsurance and Guy Carpenter use a number of sophisticated technologies and processes to better assess and manage the range of risks now facing them. Find out how.

Munich Re President and CEO Mike DeKoning shares his thoughts on life reinsurance in the U.S. Life reinsurers’ services may be in greater demand as direct writers seek to relieve pressure on capital.

The remarkable economic growth that the Muslim world has experienced in recent years, together with a substantial increase in the availability of Shari’a compliant financing, has created a burgeoning demand for insurance products that are compatible with Islamic principles (commonly referred to as “takaful”). The market for takaful has grown at a precipitous rate and is expected to continue trending upwards. One estimate of the global takaful market anticipates an $11 billion industry by 2015.

An important contribution from a strong and viable insurance industry is to help foster a sound economy. Insurers and their reinsurers have a shared responsibility to sustained, solid financial performance in order to be able to protect critical assets for years to come.

Tele-underwriting, a concept launched initially in the United States, is now getting momentum in various markets in Europe and in the rest of the world. Teleunderwriting can revolutionise the business process in the field of underwriting. (SCOR Global Life overview of this process and its advantages.)

Insurance policy or reinsurance treaty discussion documents for various catastrophic medical excess lines of business made available by the SOA Reinsurance Section Council.

The SOA Reinsurance Section report, authored by Bill Briggs, Gaetano Geretto and Bob Lau, presents results of a company survey examining the extent to which the buyers of individual life reinsurance are concerned about reinsurance capacity and the concentration of risk on their own books and on the books of reinsurers.

The Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak in Mexico and other parts of the world is clearly cause for concern, not least for those communities already directly affected. One of Swiss Re’s leading pandemic experts, Bob Howe, answers some key questions.

U.S., Bermuda and large international reinsurance companies lost about 15% of their capacity in 2008 as measured by shareholders’ equity. But A.M. Best Co. believes that two excellent operating years preceding 2008, sizable capital increases after Hurricane Katrina and significantly improved loss reserves have enabled the reinsurance industry to withstand the barrage of investment charges and catastrophe losses.

Willis Re: Reinsurers Outperformed Financial Services Community in 2008

Despite the financial crisis, the ILS market has more than held its own and appears poised for further growth. This Towers-Perrin article appears in the 2009/1 issue of Emphasis.

From the October '08 edition of The ReSource, Canada Life's newsletter.

The life insurance industry enters 2009 facing an economic environment and a business outlook that are profoundly different from one short year ago. While every year presents catalysts for change, 2008 will go down as one of extreme, involuntary change as companies dealt with the suddenness and severity of the financial crisis. What is more, the traditional playbook does not appear to offer many options on how to manage through the challenges.

Article by David M. Holland, FSA, MAAA in the Society of Actuaries' Reinsurance News newsletter (February 2009).

Presentation at ReFocus 2009.

The financial crisis has accelerated calls for a new global regulatory framework governing the financial services industry. Multiple government initiatives have been launched to enhance financial stability, restore confidence and review the existing regime. As regulators formulate new guidelines, the (re)insurance industry is actively contributing to the debate in order to help create a regulatory environment that reduces the chances of a similar crisis reoccurring.

In the book “From Principle-based Risk Management to Solvency Requirements", SCOR specialists describe over five hundred pages how the company models risks according to the requirements of the Swiss Solvency Test (SST), which is based on concepts very similar to the ones set forth by Solvency II.

Beyond the regulatory requirements, the understanding of the concepts involved as well as the results of the comprehensive risk modelling process are essential in all sectors and are vital to the development of a coherent Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process.

The global reinsurance industry has remained substantially unscathed by the unprecedented turmoil in the global capital markets, with a capital base still largely intact and liquid, although access to new capital in 2009 will become more difficult and expensive in the current economic climate, according to a new report from Willis Re, the reinsurance broking arm of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker.Willis Re’s “1st View,” its quarterly reinsurance market report, examines rate movements across numerous territories and product classes and includes detailed analysis from Willis Re’s product line experts. Bearing the title “Capital Rules,” the report finds evidence that, with January 1 renewals, reinsurers are taking meaningful price increases in capital-intensive lines of business, such as the U.S. Nationwide Catastrophe business.

According to the latest Swiss Re sigma study, world insurance premium income grew 3.3% in real terms in 2007, reaching USD 4 061bn. This growth was primarily driven by the life business in industrialised and emerging markets and to a lesser extent by the non-life business in the emerging markets.

UPDATE: The statistical appendix updates premium volumes from the world insurance sigma published earlier this year.

Underwriters are commonly thought of as pseudo-doctors, unraveling complex medical histories and risk factors and translating these into life expectancies. Or as pseudo-accountants, reviewing pages of financial statements and tax returns in order to determine (to the penny!) how much insurance is warranted on an individual. Yes, underwriting involves both of those skill sets but what is often overlooked is perhaps the most important facet of underwriting. (Canada Life Reinsurance)

2006 saw a significant relaxation in the statutory valuation requirements for life insurers and reinsurers writing non-profit protection business in the UK. This coincided with the enactment here of the EU Reinsurance Directive. Many commentators expected these developments would significantly alter insurers’ appetite for reinsurance and also the structure of the reinsurance arrangements used. In the following article we examine why things haven’t quite turned out that way and offer our own interpretation of how insurer–reinsurer relationships may pan out in future.

Presentation by Munich American Reassurance Company at the ACLI Reinsurance Executive Roundtablemeeting in January 2008.

There has been a period of major change in the reinsurance landscape including the demise of Annuity and Life Re and the elimination of a number of companies with weaker franchises or lack of commitment to the market. As recently as 2000, the life reinsurance market included Lincoln National, American United Life, ING Re, Allianz and Employers Re—all of which either have exited the life reinsurance market, says Stephen Irwin writing in the SOA's Reinsurance News.

Provided by Munich American Reassurance (amounts in $U.S. millions).