Best of Artemis, week ending 8th September 2013

Here are the top ten articles as viewed by our readers week ending 8th September 2013. As always, you can read every market news story and article here on the Artemis news blog, subscribe to our weekly email newsletter updates and for your convenience here are the ten most popular news articles from the last seven days on Artemis.

Artemis is in Monte Carlo currently at the 57th Annual Reinsurance Rendezvous event. As a result we’ve been busy writing over the weekend and want to ensure you don’t miss anything. So before our ‘best of’ here are some articles from the weekend you may have missed.

• PCS working with CSX to develop catastrophe derivatives exchange
• Catastrophe bond market may hit $23 billion by end of 2016: GC Securities
• Alternative capital as significant to reinsurance as emergence of Bermuda: S&P
• PERILS-based limits at risk hit $4.3B, over $8B placed since launch
• Old meets new as alternative reinsurance capital grows share

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 8th September 2013:

1. Capital markets investors boost global reinsurer capital to $510 billion
   Global reinsurer capital has risen by 1% so far this year, reaching $510 billion by June 30th according to reinsurance broker Aon Benfield’s latest Aon Benfield Aggregate study. We discuss the study and also provide links to analysis and news on many traditional reinsurers recent asset management or capital markets ventures.
2. Munich Re buying RenaissanceRe’s weather and energy risk unit
   Munich Re announced it has reached an agreement with Bermudian reinsurer RennaissanceRe to acquire RenRe’s weather and weather-related energy risk management unit, RenRe Energy Advisors Ltd.
3. Alternative capital a disruptive force in reinsurance: Goldman Sachs
   In a recent report, Goldman Sachs highlights alternative capital in reinsurance as one of eight disruptive themes in business today which it believes has the potential to reshape its sector and command an increasing level of attention from investors over years to come.
4. Lloyd’s Nelson warns on ‘systemic’ risk of alternative reinsurance capital
   Chairman of the Lloyd’s market, John Nelson, raised the issue of alternative reinsurance capital, the often third-party backed non-traditional capital which has been flooding into the reinsurance market, in a speech yesterday evening and warned against systemic problems this capital could bring to the sector.
5. Pioneer launches prop cat reinsurance startup with institutional backing
   Demonstrating another way that institutional investors and capital markets money can make its way into the reinsurance sector, underwriting agency Pioneer Underwriting is launching a property catastrophe reinsurance startup with the help of backing from a range of investors.
6. Opportunity for reinsurers to learn from ILS: Aon Benfield CEO
   Dominic Christian, co-CEO and CEO of International at reinsurance broker Aon Benfield, made a number of interesting comments at the brokers pre-Monte Carlo Rendezvous press briefing on Monday. One point Christian made was that traditional reinsurers need to look to the ILS market for inspiration.
7. Strong capital inflows bring ILS & cat bond market to new high: Aon Benfield
   Assisted by strong levels of new capital flowing into the space, the market for insurance-linked securities and catastrophe bonds reached a record of $17.5 billion outstanding cat bonds after $6.7 billion of new issuance in the twelve months to June 30th 2013, according to Aon Benfield Securities.
8. Brit opens in Bermuda for catastrophe reinsurance, retrocession, ILW’s
   Brit Group, the global specialty insurer and reinsurer with a large presence at Lloyd’s, is aiming to increase its penetration into the global reinsurance market with the opening of an office in Bermuda, targeting expansion for its distribution network and focusing on catastrophe risks.
9. PCS explores catastrophe loss index coverage for South Korea
   Industry-loss based reinsurance contracts, catastrophe bonds and industry-loss warranties (ILW’s) could be coming to the South Korean reinsurance market if Property Claim Services (PCS) has its way, having reached an agreement in principle to work with the KFPA to bring its catastrophe loss index to South Korea.
10. SCOR plans two new Atropos ILS funds and ILS transformer operations
    French reinsurer SCOR, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, plans to strengthen and expand its operations to leverage the increasing convergence between reinsurance and capital markets, according to the reinsurers newly released strategic plan for the next three years.

This is by no means every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular among our readers. To ensure you always stay up to date with Artemis subscribe to our weekly email newsletter update.

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