Kingstone secures catastrophe reinsurance program for 2024/25

Kingstone secures catastrophe reinsurance program for 2024/25 | Insurance Business Asia

Reinsurance

Treaty saw savings of $6 million

Reinsurance

By
Kenneth Araullo

Northeast-based property and casualty (P&C) insurance holding firm Kingstone Companies has announced the finalization of its catastrophe reinsurance program for the period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

Jennifer Gravelle (pictured above, left), chief financial officer at Kingstone, highlighted the placement and how it compared to the previous treaty period.

“Kingstone has finalized its 2024/2025 catastrophe reinsurance placement. The company purchased $275 million of total catastrophe limit and reduced its first event retention to $5 million. The total cost is approximately 14% of projected direct premiums earned, a significant reduction from 19% for the previous treaty period,” Gravelle said.

In a news release, Gravelle highlighted that last year, the company tightened underwriting and curtailed new business writings to better manage catastrophe exposure and reduce probable maximum loss (PML). Although reinsurance pricing increased, it was not as significant as projected.

As a result, Kingstone was able to lower its 2024/2025 reinsurance treaty cost by about $6 million, improving projected full-year earnings by approximately $0.21 per share and providing better protection with a lower first event retention. These savings will be reflected in the third and fourth quarter results of 2024.

Meryl Golden (pictured above, right), chief executive officer of Kingstone, thanked the reinsurance support from the firm’s more than 25 partners.

“In 2024, with expectations of the reinsurance market softening and confidence in our rates, we re-adjusted our underwriting guidelines to accept more new business. This has resulted in more than 20% premium growth in our core New York State business, which continues to accelerate, while we were also able to significantly reduce the cost of this year’s reinsurance placement,” Golden said.

Kingstone is a Northeast regional P&C insurance holding company with its principal operating subsidiary, Kingstone Insurance Company (KICO). KICO, a New York domiciled carrier, writes business through retail and wholesale agents and brokers.

KICO actively writes personal lines and commercial auto insurance in New York, and in 2023, was the 15th largest writer of homeowners insurance in New York. KICO is also licensed in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Maine.

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