- Massive storms, wildfires, and other catastrophes that battered communities and the insurance industry last year won't be enough to boost property-reinsurance prices this year, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing brokers and executives.
- Oversupply of capital is the reason why reinsurance prices haven't surged. Pension funds, endowments, and other large investors who are seeking to diversify and get higher returns have put billions into catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities over the past 10 years, giving insurance companies another source to help pay claims after disasters strike.
- Reinsurers that had hoped to increase property-catastrophe reinsurance prices by 10% or more in 2018 ultimately were limited to an about 6% increase due to the money poured into insurance-linked securities.
- Still, it's hard to tell if big investors will stay in the market after two years of higher-than-normal catastrophe losses.
- “They’re not quite sure that they want to pull out, and they’re not quite sure they want to commit to the new deals that are coming forward," says Morton Lane, president of consulting firm Lane Financial.
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