systemic risk

A newly formed public-private research consortium intends to explore innovative financial instruments that can be used for transferring systemic risks, with parametric bonds one of the solutions set to be studied.

Reinsurance companies won’t be designated as systemically important (G-SII) because they aren’t systemic, according to SCOR CEO Dennis Kessler, a view that is also held by rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

Based on an analysis of extreme loss scenarios, Standard & Poor’s says that it does not consider reinsurers’ catastrophe risk exposure to be a source of systemic risk and that collateralized retrocession helps to reduce interconnectedness in the sector.

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published its assessment methodology and policy measures for global systemically important insurers, or G-SIIs. As we wrote previously, there had been some uncertainty about how insurance-linked securities and catastrophe bonds would be treated, but this has now been clarified.

Once again, the investment-side risk that comes with the hedge fund backed reinsurer strategy becomes apparent in a hedge fund reinsurance firms results announcement. This time it’s Greenlight Re, the Cayman Islands domiciled reinsurer backed by hedge fund manager David Einhorn, which has been hit by investment losses. The last time we wrote about Greenlight […]

In a news article published yesterday, rating agency A.M. Best highlight the investment-side risk that comes with the hedge fund backed reinsurer strategy which has been becoming more popular in recent years. These reinsurers, backed by large hedge funds, typically try to access the premium income available in the reinsurance market as a source of […]

The international insurance and reinsurance think-tank The Geneva Association has been one of the more vocal organisations on the topic of systemic riskiness of global insurers and reinsurers. Back in August they voiced concerns about the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) work to identify ‘globally systemically important insurers’ saying that when assessing systemic risk […]

There were some more interesting comments made at the Baden Baden kick-off event held by Guy Carpenter on Sunday. The event featured a number of key industry figures discussing volatility as a concept affecting reinsurers and whether volatility should be looked on as a threat or an opportunity. One of the participants was Carlos Montalvo, […]

Our regular readers will be aware that we’ve been following the work of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) which has been looking at ways to identify and manage what they term G-SII’s or Globally Systemically Important Insurers. By insurer you can also read reinsurer and any entities involved in re/insurance type business. Of […]

In an article published by Fitch Ratings their director of insurance Martyn Street says that hedge fund backed reinsurers may find achieving their goals, of “using stable premium flows in lower-risk underwriting business to support higher returns on the companies’ asset portfolios” a challenge. As simple as the hedge fund reinsurer business model sounds, there […]