There was a noticeable change of mood among the insurance companies who packed the first Insurance Investment Exchange seminar of the autumn on 19th September.

Are insurers falling out of love with yield? That is the question posed by the audience voting results from the recent Insurance Investment Exchange seminar.

This week, Lloyd's posted reduced pre-tax profits for the first half (£1.22bn compared with £1.46bn) which does not include estimates for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma (present Lloyd's loss estimate of £3.4bn).

This week, prior to the UK Prime Minister's Brexit speech in Florence on Friday, Aon, RSA, and Zurich were amongst 100 companies lobbying for up to a 3 year Brexit transitional period.

This week, the annual Monte Carlo Rendezvous was the highlight, not for the first time coinciding with a major hurricane. It will take some time to assess the insured losses through Hurricane Irma. AIR Worldwide's latest estimate is between $20-40bn less than first thought. Munich Re reported that it may make a loss in the third quarter, but other reinsurers have still to provide an assessment.

As the annual Monte Carlo Rendezvous begins, the Atlantic hurricane season is in full swing, with Hurricane Harvey rapidly followed by Irma which is about to hit Florida as we write. Insurers, reinsurers, and ILS may be in for a major pounding. Air Worldwide and CoreLogic provide latest estimates of potential insured losses.