Daily Digest: Hard market reinsurance market ahead, D&O insurers rewarding ESG, BMS boots casualty

Cedants warned of 'true hard market' ahead following tough mid-year renewalsProperty reinsurance buyers are facing a “true hard market” with a shortage of capacity at future renewals following tough mid-year renewals, Aon has warned. Buyers in the US and Australia faced a particularly challenging mid-renewal season with reinsurers’ appetite for natural catastrophe risk contracting materially following several years of above-average losses. This was coupled with rising demand for reinsurance protection - on the back of inflation driven-exposure growth and increased frequency of secondary perils – leading to “a near-perfect storm”, Aon said. Over the past decade, the ten-year average insured catastrophe loss has increased from $60bn to $95bn globally, according to Aon. Meanwhile, reinsurer capital reduced by $30bn in the first quarter of 2022 and now stands at $645bn.