Daily Digest: Reinsurers face brunt of Ida losses, New WTW finance chief, Ascot's reinsurance launch

Reinsurers 'to take majority of Hurricane Ida losses' Reinsurers’ catastrophe budgets looked set to be smashed as analysts predicted they would take the majority of losses from Hurricane Ida. Early indications suggest Ida, which slammed into Louisiana as a category four storm, could be a $20bn-plus loss event, making it one of the top 10 costliest hurricanes on record for re/insurers. But there were concerns the final tally could be significantly higher amid sizeable flood losses and continued power outages. Based on this estimated size of event, losses will hit reinsurance attachment points, given the regional insurer profile in Louisiana, analysts said. And with significant losses in 2021, aggregate covers could also be triggered.