German mutual Gothaer will write more business in the commercial and industrial sector than in retail business next year, because, according to CEO Werner Görg, Gothaer cannot make money on individual business such as private motor, because of price competition. Premium income from motor dropped to €323m last year from €350m the year before, as it insured 1.51m vehicles, 5,400 fewer than the year before. Mr Görg said that the industrial sector was going, but that the company was being cautious about offshore renewable energy, primarily wind parks. He said that Gothaer was not involved in a single offshore project, given the risks that had been made clear by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. But he admitted that some clients were putting Gothaer under pressure to insure offshore plants because they were already insuring the onshore plants.

Tropical storm Alex attained hurricane strength late Tuesday, becoming the first Atlantic basin hurricane of the 2010 season as it continued its slow march toward the Gulf of Mexico coast of Mexico and Texas. Alex is the first hurricane in the gulf in the month of June in 15 years. Late Tuesday, Alex was centred 255 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, moving to the west at 9 mph with sustained winds of 75 mph, the US National Hurricane Centre reported. With the westward turn of the storm, forecasters expect Alex to make landfall late Wednesday well south of the US/Mexican border and inflict its heaviest blow in Mexico. While centred more than 500 miles from, and moving away from Louisiana, the storm still prompted a halt to skimming operations for the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on Tuesday, as high seas and thunderstorms forced skimming vessels to retreat to port. The outer reaches of the storm system extend to the western half of the gulf, and the southeasterly winds of its counterclockwise motion are expected to bring oil further onto beaches, onto coastal roads and into marshes of Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

The non-life insurance sector emerged relativerly healthily from the global financial crisis of late 2008/early 2009, according to Swiss Re's latest sigma report. It noted that, despite losses from investments, "insurers had more than enough capacity to meet demand". Premiums for 2009 as a whole were flat — down just 0.1% year on year. Falls in the US and Europe were nearly counterbalanced by growth elsewhere. "Given the sharp drop in GDP, this is a remarkable result", sigma said. The global economy shrank by about 1.9% in real terms last year. However, the crisis brought pressure elsewhere. The combined ratio for the industry turned negative in 2009, even though it was a benign year for catastrophes. Lower prices hit the technical result, but overall profitability improved because of a remarkable bounce-back in the credit and equity markets from March 2009 on. Swiss Re did not expect any widespread hardening of rates, with continuing downward pressure affecting profitability and premium growth. Investment returns will be hit by continuing low interest rates.