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The Fidelis Partnership Syndicate 3123 Begins Writing at Lloyd’s

Syndicate 3123 (The Fidelis Partnership Syndicate) has officially started the underwriting business at Lloyd's, according to confirmation from The Fidelis Partnership and Fidelis Insurance Group. In March of this year, the Fidelis Partnership Syndicate was first announced in association with Hampden Agencies, Lloyd's primary source of private capital.

?According to reports, the Fidelis Partnership Syndicate's initial goal is to write $180 million of GWP in the second half of 2024 and $450 million in 2025. This underwriting will reportedly cover a variety of insurance and reinsurance classes, such as credit, property catastrophe, political violence, aviation, marine, contract frustration, and political risk.

The Fidelis Partnership claims that by sponsoring this syndicate, Richard Brindle, its founder and chief executive officer, is making his 26-year absence from the Lloyd's market official. "I'm happy that The Fidelis Partnership Syndicate is now ready to start underwriting; this is the largest launch of a name-sponsored syndicate in Lloyd's history," Brindle said.

UAE Floods Cause Late Reinsurance Renewals at Mid-Year

?According to reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, renewals in the Middle East were difficult and late, while the majority of property reinsurance placements were finished early or on schedule. This was mostly caused by uncertainties around damage estimates for the most recent floods in the UAE. Analysts observed that since cedants are enforcing price and deductible hikes, which reinsurers are keeping an eye on, these developments have directly affected the original property policies.

Program structures are shifting more and more to pure quota share, with certain programs experiencing a more drastic change to gross XL. Furthermore, at midyear, commission levels on pro-rata treaties were minimized by -2 to -1.5 points. The event limits for flood and precipitation accumulation in the Middle East have reduced as the region depends more and more on catastrophe modelling. Gallagher Re finds that sellers applied the recommended natural catastrophe loadings to premiums at mid-year property renewals in the region. It was also observed that facultative inward capacity was occasionally excluded at mid-year renewals.

Health insurers to raise premiums in Lebanon, citing medical cost inflation

The inflation of medical care is rising significantly. This is Beirut contacted major private insurers in the Lebanese market, and they informed us that effective July 1st, their health insurance premiums will rise by roughly 10%. The decision to increase health insurance premiums comes in a market that has been declining for a number of years due to intense competition and eroding customer purchasing power, frequently at the expense of profit margins. The National Social Security Fund (CNSS), formerly the cornerstone of the state's social benefits administration, is in chaos, which exacerbates the situation.

The primary subjects of talk during the emergency meeting called by caretaker Minister of Economy Amine Salam, who is in charge of private insurance businesses, were the rise in health insurance premiums and the CNSS's failure to pay its debts to third-party payers. The Lebanese Order of Physicians (LOP), the Syndicate of Private Hospital Owners, and the Association of Insurance Companies in Lebanon (Acal) were represented at the meeting. As expected, after this meeting, no firm decisions or recommendations were made.

GST, Tax Reforms Will Boost Growth, Equity in Insurance Sector

The insurance sector, which is crucial to the economic health of our country, has high expectations of its own as it gets ready for the next Union Budget. It's critical to look beyond current issues and consider the larger socioeconomic picture. By focusing on tax changes, universal health care programs, social security measures, and effective risk management techniques, the government may bridge the protection gap and enable a financially secure India.

The disparity in capital gains tax rates under Section 112A between general insurance firms and other sectors is one of the major issues that have been raised. General insurers are severely disadvantaged by this disparity. I suggest that general insurance firms be given the same tax advantages as other corporate entities in order to ensure a fair and competitive business climate.

In the end, this will help the policyholder by levelling the playing field and allowing us to invest more in growth initiatives. The general insurance industry has long-standing demands, and the latest GST Council meeting addressed these needs, significantly improving the indirect tax picture and giving the industry significant strides.

Cathay Life issues first offshore dollar bond from a Taiwanese insurer

The Taiwan-based Cathay Life Insurance company said that Cathay Life Singapore, its fully owned subsidiary, had set the price for an issue of $600 million in tier 2 subordinated corporate bonds with a maturity of ten years. With an issue interest rate of 5.988%, the issuance was priced with a coupon rate 170 basis points higher than the US 10-year treasury yield of 5.95%. According to a news statement dated June 26, the funds raised will be used to "strengthen Cathay Life's financial structure and boost its capital adequacy." S&P Global and Fitch Ratings both assigned the issuance a BBB+ rating.

Finance Asia received confirmation from a Cathay Life Insurance spokesperson that the bond will be issued and settled in Singapore. The individual added that this would serve to raise the company's capital and improve its exposure to international capital markets. As a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the issuance, Cathay Life Singapore was founded in June, and Cathay Life Insurance served as the transaction's guarantee. Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Citi served as the deal's joint bookrunners. The press announcement highlighted that institutional investors oversubscribed the issuance three times, leading to an increase in size from $500 million to the current $600 million. 72% of fund and asset managers, 17% of insurance and pension funds, 7% of banks, and 4% of other investors make up the investor base, which is primarily located in Hong Kong and Singapore.

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