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Allianz interested in buying XL Group; several commercial lines post rate hikes

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Allianz interested in buying XL Group; several commercial lines post rate hikes

German insurer Allianz has expressed an interest in acquiring XL Group Ltd in the hopes of growing its casualty coverage business in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported. Allianz is one of the insurers that approached XL for a potential deal. The talks are preliminary and there is a likelihood that a deal may not happen, according to the report.

Manulife Financial Corp. submitted a bid to acquire a controlling stake in India's IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Economic Times reported. Manulife is competing with local insurers such as HDFC Standard Life Insurance Co. Ltd. and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance Co. Ltd. for the stake and if successful, the deal will mark Manulife's entry into India.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council will re-evaluate Prudential Financial Inc.'s designation as a systemically important financial institution "in the near future," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said during a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Business Insurance reported.

Property Claim Services increased its projections for losses resulting from Hurricane Irma to $17.2 billion from the earlier estimate of $15.0 billion, The Insurance Insider reported.

The U.S. property and casualty industry is expected to post a net underwriting loss of $29.3 billion for 2017, driven primarily by catastrophe losses, following a $6.5 billion loss in 2016, according to A.M. Best. The industry's combined ratio is estimated to deteriorate to 105.1% in 2017 from 100.9% in 2016.

Barring workers' compensation, nearly all major commercial lines products saw rate hikes in January, according to a report from IVANS, a division of Applied Systems. Workers' comp rates were down 1.01%, compared to a decline of 2.92% in December 2017.

Hannover Re will shift retroceded U.S. life reinsurance business to a Bermuda subsidiary from a previously fast-growing Ireland unit in the aftermath of federal tax reform in the U.S.

Primerica Inc.'s board approved the repurchase of up to $275 million of common shares through June 30, 2019. Additionally, the board authorized quarterly dividends of 25 cents per common share, a 25% increase from the previous payout.

Navigators Group Inc. expects fourth-quarter 2017 net income to be impacted by a one-time noncash tax charge of $20 million as a result of recently enacted federal tax reform.

Willis Towers Watson Plc and First American Financial Corp. reported quarterly results.

American International Group Inc., Assurant Inc., The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. and FBL Financial Group Inc. are also expected to report earnings today.

Click here to read a summary of earnings reported Feb. 7 by select insurance companies covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Featured news

Regeneron, Alexion, Teva results; US budget deal funds CHIP, biomedical research: A bipartisan two-year spending agreement reached by Senate Republican and Democratic leaders would direct billions of dollars in new funds toward addressing the U.S. opioid crisis, advancing biomedical research and ensuring healthcare coverage for poor children.

Financial news in other parts of the world

Asia-Pacific: India, New Zealand maintain policy rates; NAB Q1 profit inches up

Europe: SoftBank in talks for Swiss Re stake; Commerzbank, SocGen report Q4

Middle East & Africa: QNB secures $3.5B syndicated loan; Moody's places Angola on review for downgrade

Latin America: Brazil cuts Selic; Bradesco proposes capital hike

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.42% to 30,451.27, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.13% to 21,890.86.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 fell 0.87% to 7,215.73, and the Euronext 100 was down 1.21% to 1,009.32.

On the macro front

The jobless claims report, the EIA natural gas report, the Fed balance sheet and money supply report are due out today.