Fitch Ratings News

Fitch: P/C Carriers Face First Underwriting Loss in 6 Years

Property and casualty (re)insurers (P&C) endured a trying 2017 with a compilation of latest financial results for a group of public companies showing an aggregate underwriting loss for the first time since 2011, according to Fitch Ratings in a new …

D&O Litigation Trends to Watch in 2017

According to a Fitch Ratings report issued last year, the directors & officers (D&O) market “has great notoriety relative to its size.” Representing a small segment of the property/casualty market, D&O coverage equals about one percent of total industry direct …

Uptick in Auto Claims Severity Due in Part to Distracted Drivers

Earlier this year, Fitch Ratings reported that the commercial auto insurance market suffered its fifth consecutive year of underwriting losses in 2015. The commercial auto combined ratio averaged 106 percent from 2011-2015, Fitch reported. According to James Auden, managing director …

Fitch: Excess/Surplus Insurance Lines Expected to Outperform Standard Market

Excess and surplus (E&S) underwriters will likely outperform standard market underwriters in 2017 even if underwriting profitability weakens in 2017, according to Fitch Ratings’ latest U.S. Excess and Surplus Lines Market Review report. E&S underwriters outperformed the property/casualty (P/C) industry’s …

Fitch: Homeowners’ Insurance Profits Surge While Personal Auto Stalls

The personal auto insurance industry experienced significant performance deterioration in 2015, and is not showing clear signs of recovery thus far in 2016, according to a new Personal Lines Market Update report from Fitch Ratings. In contrast, homeowners insurance experienced …

Fitch: U.S. Insurers Writing Cyber Coverage Totaling $1B in Premiums

About 120 U.S. insurance groups reported writing cyber coverage in 2015 totaling approximately $1 billion in direct written premiums volume, according to Fitch. Fitch aggregated the cybersecurity statutory supplement data for the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) insurance industry and analyzes the …

Fitch: P/C Insurers’ Operating Profitability Declined First Half of 2016

North American property/casualty insurers’ operating earnings decreased in the first half of 2016, as results were challenged by modest underwriting deterioration and low investment yields, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. For a group of 44 (re)insurers, aggregate …

Fitch: Property Insurers Well Positioned for Predicted Hurricane Season

A large catastrophic hurricane in 2016 would likely promote a shift towards positive pricing movement following years of property insurance pricing declines in the U.S. property/casualty market, according to Fitch Ratings’ 2016 annual hurricane season reference report. However, abundant available …

Fitch: Most Florida Specialty Insurers Remain Untested By Hurricanes

The majority of Florida’s homeowner specialist insurers have brief histories, and their ability to manage a large catastrophic hurricane is uncertain despite recent strong performance, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. The last hurricane to make landfall in …

Fitch: Commercial Auto Insurance Line Considered a Chronic Underperformer

U.S. commercial auto insurance has evolved into a chronically underperforming product segment for U.S. property/casualty insurers, according to Fitch Ratings. While the P/C industry has reported three consecutive years of significant underwriting profits, the commercial auto market as a whole …