Best of Artemis, week ending 15th June 2014

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 15th June 2014, on catastrophe bonds, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics, from the last seven days on Artemis. To ensure you never miss a thing  subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates.

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 15th June 2014:

1. Alternative capital changes reinsurance underwriting behavior: Charman
   The continued influx of alternative reinsurance capital from third-party and institutional investor sources into the reinsurance market has led to increased competition and changes in underwriting behaviour, according to Endurance CEO John Charman.

2. Blackstone reduces allocation to reinsurance on changed risk/reward
   Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, the hedge fund solutions group of investment and private equity giants Blackstone, has reduced its allocation to reinsurance as a response to a changed risk/reward profile for the asset class.

3. Swiss Re’s Admin Re to acquire pension business from HSBC UK
   Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has entered into an agreement with HSBC to purchase over 400,000 individual and group pension and related annuity policies as well as GBP £4.2 billion in unit-linked assets from HSBC Life (UK) Limited.

4. Hail losses no longer attritional, hail reinsurance recomended: RMS
   Insurance industry losses from hail storms and extreme hail events are rising, with recent storms showing that hail should no longer be considered just an attritional loss causing peril, according to risk modeller RMS.

5. Alternative capital improves re/insurance capital efficiency: AIG’s Hancock
   Some risks are more suited to the traditional reinsurance model, where underwriter skill and experience are crucial, but there are certain risks that are better in the capital markets where capital efficiencies can be realised, according to AIG’s Peter Hancock.

6. JLT Capital Markets closes largest Oak Leaf private catastrophe bond yet
   Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets (JLTCM) Inc. has closed the largest Oak Leaf Re private placement catastrophe bond to date, with the completion of Oak Leaf Re Ltd. (Series 2014-1) at $44.035m.

7. For some insurers, it’s the reinsurance collateral that matters
   For some primary insurance sponsors of catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and other alternative sources of reinsurance capital it’s the fully collateralized nature of the products which will keep them coming back for more.

8. Queen Street X Re cat bond brings more Australian risk from Munich Re
   The world’s largest reinsurance company Munich Re is back with its tenth catastrophe bond under the Queen Street naming convention, Queen Street X Re Limited, its third cat bond to include Australia cyclone risk alongside U.S. hurricanes.

9. Hannover Re reinsures longevity risk from PIC/Total pension buy-in
   Hannover Re was the reinsurance firm sitting behind the £1.6 billion pension buy-in we reported yesterday, between specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) and oil company Total’s UK pension plan.

10. Lloyd’s of London’s diversity adds resilience to soft re/insurance pricing
    The broad diversification found in the Lloyd’s of London insurance and reinsurance markets re/insurance portfolio provides it with a level of resilience to the softening of re/insurance prices, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

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Q1 2014 Catastrophe Bond & ILS Market Report – A Record Quarter

Don’t forget to download your copy of our Q1 2014 catastrophe bond & ILS market report.

This report reviews the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market at the end of the first-quarter of 2014, looking at the new risk capital issued and the composition of the transactions completed during Q1 2014. Download your copy here.