Best of Artemis, week ending 21st December 2014

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 21st December 2014, 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 21st December 2014:

1. Sequant Re launches ILS platform, aims to ease investor access to risk
   A newly launched Bermuda-based insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralized reinsurance company aims to lower barriers to entry for investors, as Sequant Re Holdings Limited announces the completion of its financing and the launch of Sequant Re.

2. XL Group approaches Catlin with offer to combine
   Global insurance and reinsurance firm XL Group has approached competitor Catlin Group with an offer that looks part acquisition, part merger, which if successful would see a new top 10 player appear in the global re/insurance market.

3. Records, growth for ILS & collateralized reinsurance market in 2014: Aon
   This year has seen records fall across the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector, with the highest ILS issuance seen as well as a record amount of collateralized reinsurance capacity put to work, making 2014 a banner year for the sector.

4. Reinsurance rate softening, broadening of terms ahead in 2015: KBW
   Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette and Woods expect continued rate decreases across reinsurance lines through 2015, with softening most pronounced in property catastrophe risks, while at the same time further broadening of terms and conditions is expected.

5. Hannover Re completes capital markets mortality swap
   German reinsurance firm Hannover Re has successfully completed a retrocessional transfer of extreme mortality risks to the capital markets, through the placement of an index-linked mortality swap with largely institutional investors.

6. Gator Re situation worsens, offers to buy at-risk cat bond still emerge
   The ongoing situation surrounding Florida primary insurer American Strategic Insurance’s Gator Re Ltd. catastrophe bond has deteriorated further, as mounting catastrophe losses have risen further towards the cat bond’s attachment point.

7. Strong secondary cat bond trading in November due to impending maturities
   The month of November saw strong trading activity in the secondary market for insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds as investors looked to capitalise on yields from short-dated cat bond notes which are soon to mature.

8. James River. Not a hedge fund but maybe a hedge fund insurer?
   Bermuda domiciled specialty excess and surplus lines insurance firm James River Group Holdings Ltd., has a hedge fund pedigree and employs an investment strategy that sees it allocate assets to alternative investments, but it is no hedge fund the firm insists.

9. Reinsurance shares suffer, as prices soften & glut of capital bites
   Reinsurance company stocks traded well below the overall market during the third-quarter of 2014, as excess capital, the consistent flow of alternative capital and reduced reinsurance demand heaped pressure onto reinsurers, according to A.M. Best.

10. Fitch gives London insurance & reinsurance market negative outlook
    Fitch Ratings has revised its fundamental outlook for the London non-life insurance and reinsurance market to negative, previously stable, due to the underlying expectation that a substantial proportion of the market faces further significant pricing pressure.

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 25 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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