US property catastrophe reinsurance rates rise up to 50% on July 1-report

US property catastrophe reinsurance rates rose by as much as 50% at a key July 1 renewal date, broker Gallagher Re said in a report on Monday, with states such as California and Florida increasingly hit by wildfires and hurricanes. Reinsurers insure insurance companies, and have been raising rates in recent years because of steepening losses, which industry players put down in part to the impact of climate change. Higher reinsurance rates can affect the premiums which insurers charge to their customers. US reinsurance rates for policies which previously faced claims for natural catastrophes rose 30-50%, Gallagher Re said. Reinsurance rates for similar policies in Florida rose 30-40%, the broker added. Some insurance firms have pulled out because of the risk of heavy losses. State Farm said in May it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California. Reinsurance rates for some types of aviation war policies rose by up to 100% on the July 1 renewal date, Gallagher Re said. Industry players point to ongoing liability claims following two Boeing 737 MAX crashes, legal battles over planes stuck in Russia and the destruction this year of aircraft at Khartoum airport as contributing to higher aviation war rates.<br/>