No catastrophe for casualty, but challenges remained at renewals

While perhaps the most fraught negotiations were over property cat during the 1/1 renewals in Europe, casualty and specialty lines also had their areas of contention. As with property, the outcomes for insurers varied widely, said an Intelligent Insurer panel.

The big story for the renewals season in Europe was that it was late and hard. Much of that reflects the focus on natural catastrophes, with an emphasis on the impacts of climate change and the rise of secondary perils. More concretely, the July 2021 floods in Germany and surrounding countries stiffened reinsurers’ resolve to raise rates.

It also explains in part why negotiations continued so late, as Yörn Tatge, senior vice president and managing director at AIR Worldwide, revealed.

“For insurers, the Bernd storm event in Germany in July 2021 keeps unfolding. The original estimate was around €4 billion; now, we are talking about €9 billion,” he said.