Archive for December, 2011

An embedded value life securitization transaction has been launched on behalf of Aurigen Reinsurance who are seeking through this Vecta I Ltd. deal to monetise the cash flows associated with life insurance and mortality business it has reinsured. Embedded value life securitization transactions enable sponsors to realise the present value of future cash flows by […]

The insurance-linked securities investor landscape is becoming more diverse both geographically and in terms of type of investor, according to data shared by Swiss Re at their recent ILS media event. The main source of investment inflow into ILS and catastrophe bond assets is still from dedicated funds, who now make up 70% of the […]

A new bill, which is ostensibly a tax bill but includes reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program, has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives (on the 13th), the first step on a long route towards becoming law (or not). The bill passed was called the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation […]

Swiss Re have released their preliminary estimate of insured losses resulting from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters occurring during 2011. Swiss Re’s sigma team estimate the total insured loss at $108 billion with natural catastrophes contributing $103 billion of that, well up on the $43 billion experienced during 2010.

Important news this morning from PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company providing industry-wide European catastrophe insurance data and loss indices for insurance-linked security and industry-loss warranty transactions, who have announced that they are expanding their services to include coverage for a new class of risk, UK flood. The addition of inland flooding for the UK […]

Just last week we published an interesting graph which shows how the approaching hurricane Irene affected the price of exposed secondary market catastrophe bonds. Pricing fluctuations in the face of disaster is just one of the effects that the secondary market experiences as a disaster approaches or in the aftermath, the other effect is fluctuations […]

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) provided risk modelling, analysis and acts as calculation agent for the recently closed $200m Golden State Re Ltd. catastrophe bond. The innovative deal provides cover for workers compensation claims that result from earthquakes and as such the modelling aspect is unique in the cat bond market and features payout factors based […]

Thailand’s Securities & Exchange Commission may look to weather derivatives as a mechanism to allow investors to hedge the risks of disasters like this years record floods. According to Bloomberg, the Thai regulator is exploring the possibility of bringing water derivatives or rainfall derivatives to market to enable away for protection to be bought and […]

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the property insurer of last resort for Texas Gulf Coast property owners exposed to windstorms and hail, has today been holding its latest quarterly board of directors meeting. We wrote back in November here that the TWIA actuarial committee had recommended that an item be placed on the agenda […]

This morning reinsurer Swiss Re held a media event at their London offices to provide invited members of relevant media with insight into the insurance-linked securities and catastrophe bond market over the course of 2011. The presentations began with a review of the last year and how the cat bond market coped with what Swiss […]