Latest news with #ChristopherSharkey
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AM Best Comments on Decommissioning of NOAA's Billion-Dollar Climate Disaster Database
OLDWICK, N.J., May 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has commented that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) removal of the billion-dollar weather disaster database could impede insurance companies' ability to track losses due to secondary perils. The NOAA disasters database, which was created in 1980 to track catastrophes that caused at least $1 billion in economic damage, will be archived but no longer updated beyond 2024. This decommissioning comes following a year when there were 27 one-billion-dollar weather events, and 28 in 2023 (despite there being no NOAA-named hurricane), compared with an average of 15 events in 2010-2022. (See the related Best's Special Report, "US Weather Event Risks Highlight Need for Stress Testing.") Insured catastrophe losses in 2024 were significant, with two major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, responsible for a large portion of the losses, and severe convective storms also contributing materially. The January wildfires in California continue to challenge reinsurance and insurance markets due to starkly increasing risk profiles, regulations and concentration risk. Overall, secondary perils, which continue to increase in frequency and severity and are illustrated by the recent tornado outbreak in the Central United States, have become a major cause of loss in the past five years for U.S. property/casualty insurers with property catastrophe exposed lines of business, due predominantly to weather patterns, effects of inflation and exposure growth from population migration. Sridhar Manyem, senior director, Industry Research and Analytics, AM Best, said: "Having a common and agreed-upon data source would help insurers trend these losses in their modeling and use the data for pricing, reinsurance and risk management, as well as help assess the gap between insured losses and economic losses and see how insurance can work to minimize the gap. "Additionally, if more of these data sources were to disappear, parametric triggers within catastrophe bonds, which depend on measurements by the NOAA, may need to be redesigned. While some other countries have governmental agencies that track similar data, private companies may have to step in to fill the void and it could take some years to build credibility and trust among market participants." AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AM Best Comments on Decommissioning of NOAA's Billion-Dollar Climate Disaster Database
OLDWICK, N.J., May 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has commented that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) removal of the billion-dollar weather disaster database could impede insurance companies' ability to track losses due to secondary perils. The NOAA disasters database, which was created in 1980 to track catastrophes that caused at least $1 billion in economic damage, will be archived but no longer updated beyond 2024. This decommissioning comes following a year when there were 27 one-billion-dollar weather events, and 28 in 2023 (despite there being no NOAA-named hurricane), compared with an average of 15 events in 2010-2022. (See the related Best's Special Report, "US Weather Event Risks Highlight Need for Stress Testing.") Insured catastrophe losses in 2024 were significant, with two major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, responsible for a large portion of the losses, and severe convective storms also contributing materially. The January wildfires in California continue to challenge reinsurance and insurance markets due to starkly increasing risk profiles, regulations and concentration risk. Overall, secondary perils, which continue to increase in frequency and severity and are illustrated by the recent tornado outbreak in the Central United States, have become a major cause of loss in the past five years for U.S. property/casualty insurers with property catastrophe exposed lines of business, due predominantly to weather patterns, effects of inflation and exposure growth from population migration. Sridhar Manyem, senior director, Industry Research and Analytics, AM Best, said: "Having a common and agreed-upon data source would help insurers trend these losses in their modeling and use the data for pricing, reinsurance and risk management, as well as help assess the gap between insured losses and economic losses and see how insurance can work to minimize the gap. "Additionally, if more of these data sources were to disappear, parametric triggers within catastrophe bonds, which depend on measurements by the NOAA, may need to be redesigned. While some other countries have governmental agencies that track similar data, private companies may have to step in to fill the void and it could take some years to build credibility and trust among market participants." AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Best's Market Segment Report: AM Best Maintains Stable Outlook on Chile's Insurance Industry
MEXICO CITY, May 08, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best is maintaining its stable outlook on Chile's insurance industry, citing premium growth, sustained profitability and strengthened regulatory framework. The Best's Market Segment Report, "Market Segment Outlook: Chile Insurance," notes that the country's insurance penetration rate has grown modestly, and while it is higher than most Latin American countries, it remained below 5% as of 2023. However, the insurance industry registered 8.7% real growth in 2023 and was led by the life segment's growth of 15.2%, driven predominantly by annuities and pension insurance. The life and property/casualty market segments also have remained profitable despite unfavorable technical results. "Despite the favorable bottom-line results, underwriting results have stayed on the negative side, driven by higher costs in the different segments and an increase in claims in the life segment. The positive net income reflects higher investment income, which benefited from the high rates in 2023," said Inger Rodriguez, financial analyst, AM Best. The report states that Chile is in the process of strengthening its insurance regulatory framework, and the regulator has defined as part of its strategic objectives, convergence toward international financial reporting standards; the implementation of IFRS 17 aims for greater uniformity in the accounting practices and reporting of financial information of insurance entities. Overall, AM Best expects Chile's insurance market to withstand current challenges, aided in part by an expanding capital base, and will continue monitoring developments that could affect the performance of domestic insurance companies. To access the full copy of this report, please visit AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Inger Rodriguez Financial Analyst +52 55 1102 2720, ext. 108 Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318
Associated Press
17-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Best's Special Report: Implications of Business Profiles on Operating Performance
OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 17, 2025-- While an insurer's business profile has a foundational role in its earnings stability and surplus growth, concentration by line of business and geography can be key detriments to a respective company's profitability, according to a new report released by AM Best. In its new Best's Special Report, 'Implications of Business Profiles on Operating Performance,' AM Best notes that this concentration aspect is the greatest drag on its business profile assessments, which serve as a key building block in the rating process. Nearly 60% of AM Best-rated U.S. property/casualty (P/C) companies have a concentration sub-assessment of negative, with degree of competition (31%), market position (22%) and product risk (22%) following as less impactful factors. According to the report, there has been a shift in the risk profiles of individual states due to secondary perils, which have become a major cause of insured losses. 'Insurers operating in fewer states or with fewer lines may face greater challenges managing the financial impact of these perils than national insurers that can better diversify their risk,' said Jason Hopper, associate director, AM Best. Approximately 50% of AM Best-rated companies with a limited business profile have their largest concentration in California, New York, Florida and Texas. P/C companies domiciled in these four states accounted for nearly 35% of this segment's downgrades from 2021 through 2024. Concentrations, whether by product or geographic, can lead to heightened climate risk, event risk, limited flexibility, earnings volatility, capital pressure and regulatory risk. However, the report also notes that higher business profile assessments generally correlate with stronger operating performance assessments, demonstrated by a gradual decline in return on revenue and higher volatility in results as business profile assessments worsen. To access a complimentary copy of this special report, please visit © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on CONTACT: Jason Hopper Associate Director Industry Research & Analytics +1 908 882 1896 [email protected] Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 [email protected] Doniella Pliss Director +1 908 882 2245 [email protected] Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318 [email protected] KEYWORD: EUROPE UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK NEW JERSEY INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INSURANCE BUSINESS FINANCE SOURCE: AM Best Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 04/17/2025 08:52 AM/DISC: 04/17/2025 08:52 AM
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AM Best Revises Under Review Status to Negative for Credit Ratings of NASW Insurance Company
OLDWICK, N.J., April 03, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has revised the implications of the under review status to negative from developing for the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of NASW Insurance Company (NASWIC) (Washington, D.C.). The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect NASWIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The under review with developing implications status was based on NASWIC's separation from Preferra Insurance Company Risk Retention Group (Preferra RRG). Management of both entities requested to be rated on a stand-alone basis by AM Best. The revised implications reflect the uncertainty regarding NASWIC's prospective business plans to operate on a stand-alone basis as well as the pending litigation with Preferra RRG. Preferra RRG announced a lawsuit against National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and its wholly owned subsidiaries NASW Assurance, Inc. (ASI) and NASWIC alleging breaches of contracts related to outstanding claims on social work policies in which NASWIC was the reinsurer. A counter lawsuit was filed by NASWIC in December 2024 disputing the allegations made by Preferra RRG, including NASWIC's own claims against Preferra RRG and related parties. The ratings for NASWIC will remain under review with negative implications until AM Best evaluates the ratings of the company on a stand-alone basis. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on Contacts Adib Nassery Senior Financial Analyst +1 908 882 2198 Christopher Sharkey Associate Director, Public Relations +1 908 882 2310 Janet Hernandez Senior Financial Analyst +1 908 882 2484 Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 882 2318
