Your weekly re/insurance round-up

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After another year of above-average catastrophe losses for the marketplace,?S&P said the experience could see carriers push for heftier price rises at the January reinsurance renewals.?

Catastrophe activity in the European market heightened in the second-half of the year, which is driving the more optimistic pricing outlook at 1/1.?

However, the severe flooding in Europe in Q3 has seen the GDV declare 2021 as?the costliest nat cat year on record for Germany.

Floods also swept across?Malaysia recently and the country's general insurance association?has estimated the total payout from claims could hit $720mn.

Losses from secondary perils have been particularly high, and the year has ended with?a rare wildfire in the state of Colorado.?

Alongside renewals and catastrophe commentary, this past week saw a number of deals either announced or finalised.

This includes?Aviva's sale of its?life insurance business in Vietnam to Manulife, and?MAPFRE's agreement to?terminate its bancassurance agreement with Caixabank.

Premia Holdings completed the acquisition of Navigators Holdings (Europe) NV?and its associated companies from The Hartford, while?Nephila Capital?sold a majority shareholding in its managing general agency Velocity Risk.

Also this week,?Conduit Holdings?announced that it intends to repurchase up to $10 million of its common shares, as?The Ardonagh Group?and Mphasis?agreed to establish?a shared service entity for middle and back-office functions.

A?loss portfolio transfer (LPT) agreement between?Canopius Group and?RiverStone International?also completed this week.?

It was a busy week for DARAG as?the company agreed to acquire a Texas-based insurer, entered into?an agreement to acquire?a Nebraska based P&C company, and?completed its second novation agreement with a Cayman reinsurer.

In India, the?IRDAI confirmed GIC Re as an entity too big or too important to fail.

In other news,?the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission?has moved to lower restrictions on the entry of foreign insurance brokerage companies.