APRIL 1 RENEWALS SEE FIRMING PRICING 

The April 1 reinsurance renewals saw market pricing remain “firm” in virtually all classes and territories, following the trend set at January 1. For Japanese wind and flood, loss-hit cat accounts saw rises of between 15% and 20%, and non-loss-hit cat accounts saw rises of 5% to 10%. Capacity was adequate across the board, and no substantive changes took place in negotiations over exclusionary language, according to the latest 1st View renewals report from Willis Re. Aggregate covers particularly saw greater focus on structure than on price, as reinsurers worked to distance these accounts from attritional losses. Long-tail lines, and particularly casualty excess of loss, faced increased pricing pressure from reinsurers coping with low investment returns. Demand from insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors proved strong, particularly for capacity made available through publicly traded bonds, which helped to moderate overall price increases.