Archive for July, 2016

The problem with the global reinsurance market today is not the abundance of capital from both traditional and alternative sources, but a lack of sufficient demand for reinsurance protection across the globe, according to Des Potter, Head of GC Securities, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

A period of severe summer storms in the Netherlands in June, which brought high winds, torrential rain and large hail to the region, is expected to result in more than EUR500m of insurance industry losses, with reinsurance capital expected to take a share.

Global asset management group Schroders has underlined its commitment and ambitions in its insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment business, with the CEO of the group explaining that he sees it as a growth opportunity for the firm.

The Future Fund, one of Australia’s sovereign wealth investment funds, has allocated capital to a second ILS fund manager by selecting Kiskadee Investment Management, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund and reinsurance-linked investment arm of re/insurer Hiscox.

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re reported a set of results this morning that were hit by major catastrophe losses, taking its combined ratio to the highest its been since 2013. The reinsurer remains expansive in its strategy of deploying more capacity, but has finally pulled back on U.S. hurricane risks.

In line with the first-quarter of this year and the second-quarter of 2015, all Aon insurance-linked securities (ILS) Indices posted gains in Q2 2016. However, and again continuing the trend witnessed in Q1, relative to benchmarks the Aon ILS Indices performed with mixed results, according to Aon Securities.

Violence broke out almost simultaneously in two European countries only a couple of weeks ago. Shortly after a truck drove through the Bastille Day festivities in Nice, causing 87 fatalities and 203 injuries, according to early reports by Verisk Maplecroft, an attempted coup d’état in Turkey left more than 250 people dead.

Bermuda domiciled reinsurer RenaissanceRe (RenRe) continues to see strong appetite for its insurance-linked securities (ILS) operations from third-party investors, although the opportunity to deploy capacity remains limited, according to RenRe Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kevin O’Donnell.

With the expected mid-2016 launch of the Lloyd’s index from specialist insurance and reinsurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London being delayed, Optex, a risk transfer provider to the re/insurance and capital markets’, has highlighted the potential for market participants to utilise its own variant, Lloyd’s Lite.

Total return reinsurance vehicle Watford Re, the Arch Capital and Highbridge Principal Strategies joint-venture investment-oriented, hybrid reinsurer, has reported its best quarter yet, with a small underwriting loss being countered by impressive investment income.