Archive for March, 2012

Akibare II Ltd. a Japan typhoon catastrophe bond sponsored by Japanese insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd. has priced and been upsized just prior to closing according to sources. The Akibare II cat bond will be exposed to Japanese typhoons and tropical storms (including both wind and flood losses) over a four-year period until the […]

Lloyd’s insurance market syndicate ICAT Syndicate 4242, who specialise in catastrophe lines of business in the U.S. including assisting some of the wind pools with cover, are said to be looking to the capital markets for alternative reinsurance sources according to the Insurance Insider. We’ve spoken with contacts in the Lloyd’s market who are close […]

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. are reportedly looking at options for ways to best reduce and isolate the risks from its annuities and life insurance business from the rest of its operations, according to this article on Bloomberg. Investment losses in recent years from their life insurance unit have caused issues at the group with […]

There are three catastrophe bonds in the final phase of their marketing and execution at the moment, all of which are due to complete within the next week. Akibare II Ltd. and Pelican Re Ltd. are both due to price tomorrow according to our sources and will settle next week, Blue Danube Ltd. has we […]

The United Nations climate experts have published a lengthy report looking at mechanisms and methods to help make societies more resilient to natural disasters and severe weather events. The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change discusses the billions of dollars of damages caused by extreme weather and climate events in recent years, whether […]

It’s funny how old names from the reinsurance and catastrophe bond sectors tend to keep reappearing in the news. One of those company names that just won’t seem to go away is Lehman Re, the Bermuda reinsurance arm of Lehman Brothers. Clearly the Lehman name has had a huge impact on the catastrophe bond market […]

2011 saw the highest economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters on record and the second highest insured losses ever, according to the latest sigma report from reinsurer Swiss Re. Total economic losses leaped from the $226 billion experienced in 2010 to a massive $370 billion in 2011, while insured losses came in at […]

With the 1st April renewals just around the corner the reinsurance market is awash with speculation of just how much rates are likely to rise in both catastrophe hit regions and also the major markets of the U.S. and Europe. The majority of the April renewals focus will be on regions such as Asia Pacific […]

The uptake of microinsurance by low-income earners in parts of the developing world is growing rapidly according to data in the annual report of the International Labour Organisation’s Micro-insurance Innovation Facility. Many types of products make up the microinsurance universe, from life and health, to property, to livestock, but one area playing a key role […]

As securities go, catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities are relatively short duration, with an average lifespan of three years. This means that while new issuance flows into the market there is a constant stream of transactions maturing, coming off risk and freeing up investor capital allowing it to be deployed into the new transactions. A […]