Inthe news
GenworthFinancial Inc. President and CEO Thomas McInerney said in an annualletter to shareholders that the insurer is movingwith "a sense of urgency to rebuild shareholder value" after"another very challenging year" for the insurer.
"We were very disappointed with the largedecrease in our share price in 2015, and we continue to focus on improving ouroperating and financial performance to rebuild shareholder value," the CEOsaid.
Travelers Cos. Inc. CEO Alan Schnitzer's remarksin his first annual letter to shareholders regarding U.S.corporate taxes echoed the views of predecessor Jay Fishman, Bloomberg Newsreported. The CEO said the U.S. corporate income tax rate, which he noted as"the highest of any industrialized nation," continues to pushinsurers to transfer capital offshore, harming the U.S. economy.
"Ensuring that U.S. companies remain competitiveshould be a priority for Congress," Schnitzer said.
Total globalreinsurer capital, comprising capital both from the traditional andalternative markets, reached $565 billion at Dec. 31, 2015, down 2% comparedwith 2014, according to the latest Aon Benfield Aggregate report. Traditionalreinsurance capital dropped by 4% to $493 billion due to the strengthening ofthe U.S. dollar and the impact of rising interest rates on bond valuations.Alternative capital grew 12% to $72 billion. Aon Benfield is part of .
The catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securitiesmarket saw about $2.22 billion of newrisk capital from 10 transactions in the first quarter, ending the quarterwith about $26.52 billion of outstanding market capacity, according to Artemis'first-quarter cat bond and ILS market report.
Fitch Ratings said U.S. P&C insurer financialleverage climbedslightly to 22.4% in 2015 from 21.6% in 2014 as growth in borrowings morethan outpaced internal capital growth. Operating fixed-charge coverage droppedto 7.9x in 2015, compared with 9.1x in 2015.
Independence Holding Co. said it is with the New York StockExchange's listing requirements because it has delayed the filing of its Form10-K.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation the removal of up to19,535 personal residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for the June 21take-out period.
AmericanInternational Group Inc.'s life subsidiaries registeredconsiderable gains in the U.S. annuity market in 2015, a year in which managingexposure to variable annuities with guarantees and sales from qualifiedaccounts remained a priority for a number of annuity providers.
The U.S. life industry recorded a modest 0.76%increase in ordinary individual annuity considerations, while growth inindustrywide group annuity considerations was higher at 6.11%. Overall,industry annuity considerations grew 2.74% to $333.16 billion in 2015,according to an analysis of statutory data.
In deal news, USI Insurance Services boughtTerra Haute, Ind.-based Forrest Sherer Insurance, the Tribune Star reported.
Confie announced its acquisitionof Springfield, Mass.-based Axiom Insurance Agency.
Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Administrator andCEO SteveBuehrer is departing from the state government for the private sector.
S&P Global Market Intelligence presents on what's driving thediscussion at the NAIC's Spring National Meeting.
Inother parts of the world
U.K. banks face at least a further £22 billion incompensation for payment protection insurance mis-selling, the Financial Times reported.Data from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority showed that nearly half of the£23 billion paid out so far by the lenders represents interest only.
With no sign of a tightening in European monetary policy,low investment yields will continue to put pressure on German life insurers, many of whom soldovergenerous life policies even as signs were emerging that the Europeaneconomy was entering a prolonged period of depressed interest rates.
Chilean securities and insurance regulator SVS said it createda norm to strengthenthe risk management and internal controls of insurance companies. The new rulesrequire the boards of insurance firms to formalize the definition of thecompany's risk appetite, among other requirements.
Theday ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higheropening for the U.S. market. In Asia, the Hang Seng dropped 1.34% to 20,498.92,and the Nikkei 225 fell 0.25% to 16,123.27.
In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.76% to6,192.99, and the Euronext 100 increased 0.95% to 862.15.
Onthe macro front
The factory orders report is due out today.