Newsletter Sign-up

Two hundred years after Charles Dickens' birth, the novelist was invoked by the chief of Lloyd's to describe the reinsurance industry at this year's annual gathering in Monaco.

Carriers stress discipline and coming price hikes at Jan. 1 renewals, while brokers seem equally confident of a softening.

Executives at this year's Reinsurance Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo got away from talking about the nat/cat disasters of 2010 and 2011, and focused instead on number crunching.

The reinsurance distribution model, heavily concentrated at the top, faces a changing landscape as premium volume stagnates.

A pair of executives outfox the skeptics as they find themselves among the very few to have successfully launched a reinsurance brokerage.

The reinsurance industry in Bermuda experiences growth in insurance-linked securities as an alternative to forming a reinsurance company in the wake of big losses.

Reinsurance price hikes moderate at June renewals as catastrophe losses abate. Dwindling reserves keep rises in single digits.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- At the Reinsurance Rendez-Vous gathering in Monte Carlo in September, Risk & Insurance writer Graham Buck caught up with Richard Ward, the chief executive at Lloyd's of London to discuss rates and catastrophes in the following Q&A.

Risk models are growing in sophistication but still have major limitations, as delegates at this year's Monte Carlo Reinsurance Rendez-Vous were reminded.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- At the Reinsurance Rendez-Vous gathering in Monte Carlo in September, Risk & Insurance writer Graham Buck talked at length with Richard Ward, the CEO of Lloyd's of London.

Reinsurers talk of higher rates, while brokers argue prices likely to move sideways or soften.

Bankers crowd into the Rendez Vous and any talk of price increases is decidedly subdued.

Monte Carlo participants look back at the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy, a moment when reinsurance took a back seat to fear for colleagues.

Monte Carlo participants look back at the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy.

The big five stand-alone survivors

John Bender is poised to make Allied World Reinsurance a bigger player than ever and the growth is being built with discipline, dedication and good deeds.

Munich Re and Swiss Re both reported decent second quarter earnings after posting huge losses in the first when a series of natural catastrophes cut deep into profits.