Chubb among criticized Petrobras insurers; Root's 20% workforce layoff

TOP NEWS IN GLOBAL INSURANCE

* Chubb Ltd., Mapfre SA and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. are among several global insurers criticized for underwriting offshore oil and gas drilling in Brazil in a report published by climate activist group Insure our Future. Chubb and Tokio Marine provide 60% and 40%, respectively, of general civil liability cover to state-owned Petróleo Brasileiro SA. Chubb, Mapfre and Tokio Marine also provide 50%, 40% and 10%, respectively, of the company's transport insurance.

* Root Inc. is laying off approximately 330 employees, or 20% of its workforce, in response to "historic levels of loss cost increases" due to supply chain and inflationary pressures. The layoff is part of an organizational realignment Root implemented to drive efficiency and increased focus on its strategic priorities.

➤ Top US P&C insurers poised to report mixed Q4'21 results

Sixteen of the top 20 largest publicly traded P&C insurers by total assets could post higher 2021 fourth-quarter EPS on a sequential basis. However, only eight are projected to see year-over-year increases.

PROPERTY AND CASUALTY

* The Louisiana Department of Insurance has placed Americas Insurance Co. into receivership after it incurred significant losses from Hurricane Ida. Americas Insurance has approximately 24,000 policies and 13,000 Ida-related claims, covering 1.31% of the Louisiana homeowners insurance market as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to the regulator.

* The Allstate Corp. estimated $528 million of pretax catastrophe losses for the fourth quarter of 2021. Estimated catastrophe losses for December 2021 were $381 million, plus unfavorable reserve reestimates.

* Aegon NV will cease investing in companies that derive 5% or more of their total oil equivalent production from oil sands, down from a previous threshold of 30%. Aegon will also stop investing in companies that derive 5% or more of their revenue from oil and gas exploration and production in the Arctic.

* Gjensidige Forsikring ASA expects to report a pretax profit of 2.13 billion kroner in the fourth quarter of 2021, down from 2.31 billion kroner in the prior-year quarter, e24.no reported.

* Dubai Investments PJSC has completed its acquisition of an additional stake in National General Insurance Co. PJSC, bringing its total shareholding in the insurer to 48.34% from 45.18%.

* Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has entered an agreement to expand its participation in Ryan Specialty Group Holdings Inc.'s international MGU portfolio, effective Jan. 1. Aspen Insurance will also provide capacity across four programs in the U.S. and three programs in Europe as part of the deal.

* Timothy Lodge became the president and CEO of Eastern Insurance Group LLC, effective Jan. 1, following John Koegel's retirement. Koegel became a consultant for the business.

* Jennifer Neppel will succeed David Bomberger as chief investment officer of Pinnacol Assurance. Bomberger will retire on March 1.

LIFE AND HEALTH

* China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and China Life Insurance (Group) Co. will enter an agreement to make capital injections of 3.6 billion yuan and 5.4 billion yuan, respectively, to China Life Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Ltd. by March 31.

* Andrew Dreyfus will step down as the president and CEO of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts Inc. at the end of 2022. The company's board will start a national search for Dreyfus' replacement.

* Pension Insurance Corp. PLC has entered a partial buy-in transaction covering £250 million of liabilities for about 1,200 members of the IMI PLC-sponsored IMI 2014 Deferred Fund.

REINSURANCE

* Arch Capital Group Ltd. is seeking up to $317 million of mortgage reinsurance protection through a Bellemeade Re 2022-1 Ltd. mortgage insurance-linked notes issuance, Artemis reported.

Abdelghani Henni and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.