As inflationary pressures continue to plague insurers, The Allstate Corp.’s response may be falling behind its competitors.

The property and casualty insurer held a special topics call on Dec. 2 to address its reserving and claim process. During the call, Allstate reiterated that its $875 million second-quarter charge was principally related to inflationary pressures. The insurer also noted an increase in severe auto accidents related to distracted drivers had increased the portion of claims related to bodily injury.

According to Piper Sandler analyst Paul Newsome, Allstate was only partially successful at reassuring investors that a large reserve charge they took is not a reflection of things going poorly.

“I think that still remains an issue for investors, who are not sure if what we’re seeing at Allstate is truly reflective of the macro environment or is there something else going on that they need to be aware,” he said.

In terms of rates, Newsome said there is a spectrum of insurers keeping pace with inflation, like The Progressive Corp., and those playing catch up.

“It’s particularly interesting for Allstate because I think they were one of the earliest companies to be able to signal publicly that there were inflationary problems as we got out of the pandemic, but it looks like Progressive and some other companies have gotten ahead of them,” the Piper Sandler analyst said.

The most uncertain piece for investors is what inflation will be for auto and home companies, Newsome said. While inflation as indicated by the consumer price index may be decelerating, Newsome said claims for auto and home insurance do not precisely match the CPI.

“I think a lot of what will happen with Allstate, as well as all the other personalized writers, will depend on inflation more than pricing,” he said. “Everyone knows that pricing needs to go up and just about every company is raising rates, the question is whether it will be enough to overcome the inflation.”

Allstate’s shares declined 1.89% to $128.37 for the week ending Dec. 9. Fellow property and casualty insurers Progressive and Chubb Ltd. also saw their prices decline 2.37% and 0.79%, respectively.

The decline largely matched the S&P 500, which lost 3.37% to close at 3,934.38, while the S&P 500 U.S. Insurance index lost 2.46% to end at 595.26.

Centene divesture

Centene Corp.’s stock price rose slightly to 0.46% to $86.19 a share during the same week it completed the sale of one of its subsidiaries.

On Monday, the managed care insurer completed the sale of Magellan Rx to Prime Therapeutics LLC. The transaction is part of the company’s planned divestment of its entire pharmacy businesses, from which it expects aggregate proceeds of approximately $2.8 billion.

In a November research note following the deal’s announcement, Stephens analyst Scott Fidel said since acquiring Magellan for approximately $2.2 billion, Centene had been crafting deals to sell the Magellan Rx and NIA segments for basically the same value as it originally paid for all of Magellan.

Centene is set to hold an investor call on Dec. 16, which, according to a research note from J.P. Morgan analyst Calvin Sternick, will likely focus on the company’s long-term strategy and detailed vision for 2025 and beyond. The strategic plan will be CEO Sarah London’s “first opportunity to set the long-term direction of the company,” Sternick wrote, adding that he will be focused on the insurer broadening its provider strategy and bolstering its data technology and digital innovation.

Despite its gains, Centene was outperformed for the week ending Dec. 9 by competitors Cigna Corp. and Molina Healthcare Inc., whose shares rose 1.65% and 2.03%, respectively.

Source : SPGlobal

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Connect Underwriting Ltd., a London-based specialist reinsurance managing general agent, announced the availability of new capacity via Pixel Re, a new dedicated, monoline reinsurance vehicle for global property and downstream energy risks.

With exclusive Lloyd’s and London-market sourced capacity, Pixel Re will provide facultative reinsurance for large multinational risks on an excess-of-loss basis with immediate effect.

For attachment points of typically $500m and above, Pixel Re aims to meet growing demand for high quality capacity for larger line sizes, driven by inflationary pressures on insureds’ assets across the globe.

“We are excited to announce the addition of Pixel Re, which provides new capacity for property and downstream energy risks,” commented Jamil Elbahou, CEO and chief underwriting officer, Connect Underwriting.

“This is available immediately to select distribution partners that have a regular requirement for these attachment levels globally. Pixel Re is very much part of our commitment to leverage our expertise to bring more to the market and to fulfil the need for additional high-quality capacity in what is fast becoming an underserved area of the market,” Elbahou added.

About Connect Underwriting

Connect Underwriting Ltd, a managing general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder, is a specialist, London-based re/insurance underwriting group with operations in the UK and Europe. Founded in 2017 by Jamil Elbahou, ConnectUW is a rapidly growing business, underwriting on behalf of Lloyd’s and other first-class securities and providing capacity via the leading intermediaries of the world.

Source : InsuranceJournal

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[Shenzhen, China, December 9, 2022] Today, Huawei and OPPO announced the signing of a global patent cross-licensing agreement, which covers cellular standard essential patents, including 5G.

“After more than 20 years of continuous innovation, Huawei has developed multiple high-value patent portfolios in the global marketplace in domains like 5G, Wi-Fi, and audio/video codecs,” said Alan Fan, Head of Huawei’s Intellectual Property Department. “We are delighted to have reached a cross-licensing agreement with OPPO. The mutual recognition of intellectual property value between companies is a major step towards fostering a positive cycle of innovation and research in high-value standards: investing, receiving returns from investment, and then reinvesting. This will enable our industry to keep innovating and provide consumers with more competitive products and services.”

“We are very pleased to enter into patent cross-licensing agreement with Huawei. It clearly demonstrates that the two companies recognize and greatly respect the value of each other’s intellectual property. It is a win-win deal for both sides,” stated Adler Feng, OPPO’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer. “We will, as always, advocate for the establishment of a sustainable, healthy intellectual property ecosystem, where intellectual property licenses can be resolved through amicable negotiations and every company’s patent value are highly respected.”

Source : Huawei

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