Archive for August, 2013

eWeatherRisk, a specialist provider of weather risk transfer and weather hedging solutions to U.S. companies, is to partner with The Andersons, a diversified agricultural business, to expand the weather risk management market in the U.S. and increase its volume of weather risk transfer solutions in North America.

Almost a year ago we wrote about a venture called Multi-Strat Re which was being launched in Bermuda to assist hedge fund managers to enter the reinsurance market with less friction, allowing investors and funds to outsource many of the necessary steps in launching and operating a reinsurance business.

Bermuda-based specialty provider of insurance and reinsurance products Endurance Specialty Holdings has pulled back on some reinsurance lines, reducing the limits it deployed, at recent renewals due to the competitive pricing environment, commented CEO John Charman on the reinsurers Q2 earnings call.

Goldman Sachs is seeking to sell a majority share in its leading UK pension risk transfer specialist life insurer, Rothesay Life. A specialist in insuring the risks associated with pension schemes, and as a result involved in transferring longevity risks, Rothesay Life will follow the same route as Goldman’s reinsurer, which it sold a majority […]

Cartesian Re, a New York and Bermuda based reinsurance-linked asset management firm formerly known as Cartesian Iris, is to part ways with its ILS venture partner, Aspen Insurance Holdings. Cartesian Re will continue its industry-loss warranty (ILW) focused asset management strategy while Aspen will focus on its own capital markets unit.

The current reinsurance market pricing environment, with declining rates seen on many property catastrophe lines particularly in peak zones, is likely to affect those reinsurers which are more involved in underwriting excess-of-loss, or non-proportional reinsurance contracts, said Standard & Poor’s.

The reinsurance market in Asia has significant room for growth given the relatively low level of insurance penetration across the region, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. However risk awareness is increasing, demand for reinsurance from direct insurers in the region is growing and this will naturally lead to opportunities for the capital markets […]

The novel Hoplon Insurance Ltd. transaction, an insurance-linked securities (ILS) structure combined with collateralized reinsurance, has been expanded by sponsor MyLotto24. The groundbreaking deal now provides MyLotto24 with even more cover for exceptional jackpot winnings in their lotteries over the remainder of the deals term.

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s has lifted the rating on one of reinsurer Munich Re’s catastrophe bonds after the transaction went through its annual reset. The Queen Street V Re Ltd. catastrophe bond was reset at the end of June and based on changes to payout factors due to a shift in Munich Re’s European […]

Lancashire Holdings, global provider of specialty insurance and reinsurance products and a third-party reinsurance capital management firm through its new Kinesis Capital Management division, is now seeking to add access to the Lloyd’s of London re/insurance market to its platform with an acquisition of Cathedral Capital.