Archive for December, 2013

A £1 billion longevity swap transaction has been completed by Deutsche Bank AG for five of the Carillion plc support services groups defined benefit pension funds, with the risk ultimately being passed onto reinsurers.

Issuance of catastrophe bonds and the use of other weather-index based insurance and reinsurance solutions as tools to help China fight climate change is being called for  by its government.

Investment in flood defences across Northern Europe have proved their worth and will likely keep insured losses from European windstorm Xaver significantly lower than they would have been a decade or two earlier, according to experts.

Senior Bermuda-based reinsurance executives have said that they expect challenging times ahead and a soft reinsurance market in 2014, as recent trends result in further reductions in reinsurance rates and slipping terms and conditions.

Two insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment management firms have provided updates stating that they do not expect any impact to catastrophe bonds from last week European windstorm Xaver.

Munich Re’s U.S. insurance subsidiary, American Modern Insurance Group Inc., is sponsoring its first catastrophe bond. Queen City Re Ltd. (Series 2013-1) has launched this week to investors and is seeking named storm reinsurance protection for the insurer.

SAC Re, the hedge fund style reinsurer which was launched by hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen and his firm SAC Capital, is to be sold to a group of investors led by industry veteran Brian Duperreault and the reinsurer will be renamed Hamilton Re.

Blue Capital Management, the third-party capital and reinsurance-linked asset manager of reinsurer Montpelier Re, has asked shareholders in its Blue Capital Global Reinsurance Fund to approve some amendments to its investment policy in advance of January renewals.

According to sources an interesting catastrophe bond transaction has been launched for QBE insurance Group Ltd. The cat bond VenTerra Re Ltd. (Series 2013-1) will bring some welcome diversification to ILS investors through the inclusion of Australian perils.

The growing size of the catastrophe bond market, which at around $20 billion of risk capital outstanding has reached its largest size ever, is a credit negative factor the outlook of reinsurers, according to a report from ratings agency Moody’s.