Best of Artemis, week ending 22nd December 2013

Read every market news story and article here on the Artemis news blog. Subscribe to the weekly email newsletter updates and for your convenience here are the ten most popular news articles from the last seven days on Artemis.

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 22nd December 2013:

1. U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance to decline 15%-25% at renewal: Nomura
   As reinsurance pricing pressure builds, due to surplus traditional reinsurance capital, the influx of alternative capital and higher risk retention rates at primary insurers, Nomura analysts suggest U.S. property catastrophe reinsurance pricing could slip by 15% to 25% at renewals.
2. 2013 cat bond issuance passes $7 billion, market hits $20 billion for first time
   2013 catastrophe bond issuance has passed the $7 billion milestone for the first time this year with the completion of the latest catastrophe bond from insurer AIG, Tradewynd Re Ltd. (Series 2013-2), which takes the size of the cat bond market over $20 billion.
3. Elementum Advisors registers SPI to write collateralized reinsurance
   Elementum Advisors, an independent insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment manager has registered a new SPI in Bermuda, called Elementum Re Ltd., as it further enhances its platform for writing collateralized reinsurance.
4. More details on QBE’s VenTerra Re Ltd. catastrophe bond
   Some more details have become available on QBE Insurance Group’s first catastrophe bond transaction, VenTerra Re Ltd. (Series 2013-1), which sees the insurer seeking reinsurance coverage from the capital markets for a number of perils including Australian risks.
5. London market to take on 10% more U.S. windstorm risk in 2014
   The London insurance and reinsurance market plans to take on at least 10% more U.S. windstorm risk in 2014, adding to abundant capacity from both traditional and non-traditional sources as we approach the January reinsurance renewals.
6. Nephila Capital names Adam Beatty as active underwriter for syndicate 2357
   The largest institutional asset manager in the ILS and catastrophe reinsurance-linked investment sector, Nephila Capital, has today named Adam Beatty as the Active Underwriter for its Lloyd’s of London syndicate 2357, as from 1st January 2014.
7. Deutsche Bank helps AstraZeneca secure £2.5 billion longevity swap
   The AstraZeneca Pension Fund Trustee has entered into a longevity swap covering £2.5 billion of liabilities and approximately 10,000 of its pensioners with investment bank Deutsche Bank, passing the ultimate risk onto reinsurance firms.
8. ILS faces battle for diversifying perils, as traditional reinsurers hold on
   The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, of catastrophe bonds and fully-collateralized alternative reinsurance capital structures, faces a battle for access to diversifying perils as traditional reinsurers look set to compete strongly for this segment of the market.
9. $44 billion insured losses from catastrophes and disasters in 2013: Swiss Re
   Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has estimated the total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2013 at $130 billion, resulting in a $44 billion insured loss toll for the global insurance and reinsurance industry.
10. World Bank helps Uruguay to $450m weather & oil price insurance
    The World Bank has completed a $450 million weather and oil price insurance transaction for a Uruguayan state-owned hydro-electric power company, with the risk being offset with reinsurance by Allianz, through its partnership with Nephila Capital, and Swiss Re.

This is by no means every article published on Artemis during the last week, there were 23 in total, 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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