Archive for November, 2008

Browsing internet sites on mobile phones can sometimes be a painful experience. Mobile devices are becoming more and more capable and the speeds at which you can access the internet on your mobile is improving too. However, most websites are too large, designed for viewing on a PC and difficult to browse on mobile phones. […]

The Cayman Islands will not receive any payout from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility for the damage incurred on Cayman Brac from hurricane Paloma. As we said a few weeks ago, this is due to the high deductible level purchased by the Cayman Islands. The high deductible means that for the storm to have […]

The European Commission has provided funding to support the Global Index Insurance Facility. The facility aims to help countries mitigate catastrophe and weather risks through the use of index-based insurance solutions. The GIIF is a WorldBank initiative implemented by the International Finance Corporation. This is further evidence of alternative risk techniques becoming mainstream as they […]

Post failure of Lehman Brothers (a total return swap counterparty for cat bonds) the market for natural catastrophe bonds has slowed considerably with investors seeking reassurance before participating in the market. As a follow up to the downgrading of four catastrophe bonds, Standard & Poor’s have felt the need to further clarify their rating methodology […]

The reinsurance market is just coming to terms with the current economic climate and the recent large catastrophe losses according to a report from Standard & Poor’s. Reinsurers have been through a period where they have been able to build up capital but that came to an abrupt end this year and with final catastrophe […]

There’s a Reuters story (available here via Insurance Journal) in the press discussing the current slowness in the catastrophe bond market despite the fact that they remain in favour with investors. The story highlights the fact that there are at least $2b worth of bonds in the pipeline some (or all) of which may get […]

At times like these any source of background data and information is welcome to help understanding of the impact of the credit crisis on your markets. With stock markets declining, oil prices falling by the day, businesses folding and consumer confidence waning how will this impact the reinsurance and insurance markets? Well the Geneva Association […]

I posted a couple of days ago about the recent California wildfires and put forward some useful online data sources on fire potential and risk. On the same topic it’s pertinent to note the amount of exposure the recent fires caused. First American have said that the total residential property exposure from the recent fires […]

The United Nations World Food Programme has teamed up with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide almost $1m in funding to support research and planning for weather index-based insurance schemes aimed at poor rural farmers. This is great and furthers the cause of index-based mechanisms for […]

Wildfires are raging again in southern California, destroying hundreds of homes and causing many to flee the area. A state of emergency has been declared in Orange, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties as winds have been fanning the flames making the fire-crews work even more dangerous. The last few years have seen an increasingly […]