Best of Artemis, week ending 1st February 2015

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 1st February 2015, covering catastrophe bonds, ILS, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics. 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 1st February 2015:

1. ‘Big enough’ to be relevant in reinsurance keeps getting bigger
   The question ‘how big is big enough’, in order to maintain relevance in the currently challenging reinsurance market as it faces structural evolution, is not a simple one to answer, especially as ‘big enough’ keeps getting bigger with every announced M&A deal.

2. AXIS Capital & PartnerRe to merge in response to structural change in reinsurance
   Two more of the big Bermudian reinsurance players have announced a merger. AXIS Capital and PartnerRe have agreed to combine to form an $11 billion reinsurance player, which they hope will strongly position them to respond to structural changes in the market.

3. Alternative capital’s stickiness signals “structurally lower returns”
   The expected staying power of ILS, alternative and third-party reinsurance capital signals “structurally lower returns” for reinsurers, but should also eliminate some of the volatility and tail risk in the traditional market, according to forecasts from analysts.

4. AXIS + PartnerRe enhances ability to leverage third-party capital
   The combined company that emerges out of the merger of AXIS Capital and PartnerRe, will have an “enhanced ability to partner with other capital providers” including third-party reinsurance capital which it will use to “deliver expanded client solutions.”

5. ARC explores Ebola cover, World Bank talks pandemic cat bonds
   The African Risk Capacity (ARC), the first catastrophe insurance pool for Africa, is considering expanding to offer insurance coverage for Ebola and other epidemics to African nations. Meanwhile the World Bank continues to discuss Ebola and pandemic catastrophe bonds.

6. Market conditions pressure Bermuda reinsurers to consolidate: Fitch
   The Bermuda reinsurance market and its participants are being pressured to consolidate, through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), by challenging market conditions and increasing competition, according to rating agency Fitch.

7. 5.38% average return for ILS investment funds in 2014
   The full-year numbers are now in for the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index which show that the average return for insurance-linked securities (ILS), reinsurance linked investment and pure catastrophe bond funds in 2014 was 5.38%, which is below the long-term average.

8. 2 million African farmers insured for weather & catastrophe risks: Swiss Re
   One of the world’s largest reinsurance firms, Swiss Re, recently announced that two million African smallholder farmers are now protected against drought, floods and other natural perils, thanks to the efforts of the World Bank and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions.

9. Rating agencies see integration risks for AXIS PartnerRe merger
   The leading insurance and reinsurance rating agencies once again have mixed views of the latest proposed reinsurance M&A deal, which saw AXIS Capital and PartnerRe announce an $11 billion “merger of equals” yesterday.

10. Cat bond market averages 8.33% annual growth since 2002: Swiss Re
    The catastrophe bond market has averaged a very impressive 8.33% on a compound annual growth rate basis since 2002, according to the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Total Return Index, displaying significantly less volatility than other asset classes.

Also, make sure you read our predictions articles, featuring leading players from the ILS, cat bond and reinsurance world.

This is by no means every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular, some of which were published over a week ago. There were 30 new articles published in the last week. To ensure you always stay up to date with Artemis and never miss a story subscribe to our weekly email newsletter which is delivered every Wednesday.

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Artemis’ Q4 2014 Catastrophe Bond & ILS Market Report – A busy finish to a record year for ILS

We’ve now published our Q4 2014 catastrophe bond & ILS market report.

This report reviews the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market at the end of the fourth-quarter of 2014, looking at the new risk capital issued and the composition of the cat bond & ILS transactions completed during Q4 2014. It also includes a brief review of the full-year 2014’s record issuance.

Download your copy here.