Best of Artemis, week ending 19th February 2017

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 19th February 2017, 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.

Ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 19th February 2017:

1. ILS can and will do so much more, say ILS NYC 2017 speakers
   The influence of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market and capital market reinsurance capacity on risk transfer market development is set to increase, according to speakers and attendees at Artemis’ first conference in New York recently.

2. Capital markets role in pandemic risk transfer to expand
   By the end of 2016, ILS and alternative reinsurance capital rose to a record estimated $78 billion, but this growing pool of capital needs to find opportunities to be put to work in insurance and reinsurance risks and one area of opportunity could be in providing pandemic coverage.

3. Rochdale mutual reinsurance fund renamed, will invest in Iris Re
   City National Rochdale, LLC’s insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance linked investment mutual fund is set for launch by the investment advisor. The City National Rochdale Select Strategies Fund expects to invest a significant proportion of its assets in Cartesian’s Iris Re vehicle.

4. Jay Nichols to depart AXIS, Ekberg to head reinsurance on interim basis
   Jay Nichols has resigned from his position as CEO of AXIS Re, the reinsurance division of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, a role that has seen him develop third-party capital strategies at the firm as it adapted to the changing market.

5. “Significant” volume of ILS capital waiting on the sidelines: Peel Hunt
   A significant volume of alternative reinsurance capacity is waiting on the sidelines, ready to flood the specialist Lloyd’s of London insurance and reinsurance marketplace after the next major loss, according to analysts at Peel Hunt.

6. Credit Suisse ILS team’s Arcus 1856 adds syndicate manager
   Arcus 1856, the Lloyd’s of London syndicate backed with capital from funds under management by the Credit Suisse insurance and reinsurance linked investment strategies team, has appointed Gary Delaney as syndicate manager.

7. Pension funds continue alternatives push in 2016, positive for ILS
   The world’s pension funds continued to push more deeply into alternative investments in 2016, as asset classes which offer diversification continue to prove very attractive to a growing sector which now commands a total of $36.4 trillion of investments at year-end 2016.

8. Cincinnati grows cat bond cover with $180m Skyline Re 2017-1
   The Cincinnati Insurance Companies has significantly increased the size of its catastrophe bond and collateralised reinsurance protection with the successful issuance of a privately placed $180 million Skyline Re Ltd. (Series 2017-1) issuance with the help of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets (JLTCM).

9. Embracing third-party capital a key driver of success for re/insurers
   Taking advantage of the interest to allocate capital to generate reinsurance underwriting returns shown by third-party capital investors could be a key driver of success for re/insurers, at a time when underwriting ability is increasingly important, says A.M. Best.

10. Watford Re’s total return from investments, not underwriting in Q4 2016
    Total return reinsurance vehicle Watford Re, part-owned and operated by re/insurer Arch Capital Group with asset management provided by Highbridge Principal Strategies, delivered a positive total return in the fourth-quarter of 2016 thanks to its investment performance.

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 23 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 2016 Catastrophe Bond & ILS Market Report – Market reaches new heights

We’ve now published our Q4 2016 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 2016, looking at the new risk capital issued and the composition of transactions completed during Q4 2016.

Q4 saw $2.13 billion of risk capital issued from six transactions, exceeding the ten-year average for the quarter by approximately $337 million. Strong investor and sponsor appetite throughout 2016 helped the market end the year at a new record size, of $26.82 billion.

Download your copy here.