Best of Artemis, week ending 5th January 2014

You can read every market news story and article here on the Artemis news blog. For your convenience here are the ten most popular news articles from the last seven days, week ending 5th January 2014, on Artemis. Subscribe to the weekly email newsletter updates.

Welcome back if you’re just returning from the Christmas break and Happy New Year to you all! Make sure you catch-up on all the news you may have missed.

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 5th January 2014:

1. Costa Concordia insured loss could reach $2 billion
   Due to difficulties faced during the salvage of the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia the total insured loss from one of the most costly marine disasters in history look set to rise, perhaps to greater than $2 billion, according to reports.
2. 2013 catastrophe bond & ILS issuance hit $7.64 billion
   The total volume of catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) issued during 2013 and listed in the Artemis Deal Directory hit $7.6417 billion by the end of the year as a flurry of deals in December closed the year at an all time high of $20.5 billion.
3. One hurricane could wipe out 60% of catastrophe bonds: AIR Worldwide
   A single Category 5 hurricane making a number of landfalls on the U.S. coastline, including impacting Miami and New York, could wipe out as much as 60% of catastrophe bond tranches, according to analysis from risk modeller AIR Worldwide.
4. KKR & Co. L.P. and Nephila Capital, the benefits flow both ways
   When KKR & Co. L.P. (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) acquired a 25% stake in the largest asset manager in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance sector, Nephila Capital, it was clear this was good for Nephila and it’s also proving very good for KKR.
5. Capital, convergence, competition = reinsurance renewal rates fall
   Reinsurance rates-on-line have fallen at the January 1st 2014 renewals in nearly all classes of business and geographic regions, as strong capital levels, convergence capital and competition put downward pressure on pricing, said reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.
6. SCOR launches $55.5m Atlas Reinsurance X sidecar
   French reinsurance firm SCOR has launched a new collateralized reinsurance sidecar vehicle in time for the January renewals. Atlas Reinsurance X Limited launched at the end of 2013 and its $55.5m shares were listed in Ireland.
7. Buyers market at January reinsurance renewals: Aon Benfield
   Traditional reinsurers have continued to seek to differentiate themselves in order to secure signings at the January reinsurance renewals, as they fight back against alternative reinsurance capital and ILS, according to a report from broker Aon Benfield.
8. Catastrophe bond markets total return 11% in 2013
   The total return of the outstanding catastrophe bond market in 2013 has beaten the long-term average for the second year running, with the 2013 total return reaching a very healthy 10.9%, as measured by the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Performance Total Return index.
9. Reinsurance price softening broadens, overcapacity continues: Willis Re
   Overcapacity in the reinsurance market, created by the convergence of well capitalised traditional reinsurers, continued inflows of capital from third-parties and new entrants, has caused a soft buyers market across nearly all reinsurance lines at renewal, according to Willis Re.
10. What mattered in 2013 according to Artemis’ audience?
    What mattered to Artemis’ 27,000+ strong audience of readers, from the insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bond, global reinsurance and risk transfer markets, as we moved through 2013? Here we take a look at the top stories of each month of the year.

This is by no means every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular, some of which were published more than a week ago. There were 11 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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