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AM BestTV: 2019 Catastrophes Likely to Dent Reinsurance Earnings, Says AM Best Senior Financial Analyst


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Lee McDonald
Group Vice President, Publication and News Services
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lee.mcdonald@ambest.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - NOVEMBER 21, 2019 02:48 PM (EST)
In this AMBestTV episode, AM Best Senior Financial Analyst Mariza Costa discusses how three straight years of catastrophe losses are likely to dampen reinsurers’ third-quarter earnings. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=catsreport1119 to view the entire program.

The 2019 catastrophe activity is expected to once again place a dent in reinsurance earnings. This comes after major catastrophe losses, favorable reserve development on prior accident years and persistently low interest rates.

Costa addressed what AM Best expects to see in terms of pricing due to these significant losses.

“At Jan. 1 and certainly April 1 renewals, AM Best expects rate increases will continue,” said Costa. “For June 1, AM Best is waiting to see what is going to happen. Additionally, AM Best believes that there needs to be more rates in Florida. Hurricane Dorian could have been a lot worse. It was supposed to hit Florida as a category five; however, it did not and turned. Companies need to be compensated for the risk that they are taking, particularly in Florida and now in other parts of the world such as Japan. We are optimistic that rates will increase again.”

To access a copy of this commentary, titled, “2019 CATs Expected to Once Again Dent Reinsurance Earnings,” visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=291059 .

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AM BestTV covers exclusive AM Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html . View AM BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data provider specializing in the insurance industry. The company does business in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Oldwick, NJ, AM Best has offices in cities around the world, including London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.

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