Archive for June, 2014

In a new report published by rating agency A.M. Best, alternative reinsurance capital is identified as one of the top 10 threats to European insurance and reinsurance companies financial strength and named as a ‘Grey Swan’.

Recent developments in the longevity risk transfer market have ‘shattered preconceptions’ that longevity swaps are only for big pension schemes, according to Aon Hewitt, the retirement product unit of insurance and reinsurance broker Aon.

Not all weather forecasters expect the 2014 Atlantic tropical storm and hurricane season will see below average activity, as most traditional forecasters have predicted. StatWeather, a big data driven weather forecaster, predicts above normal activity this year.

The world’s largest reinsurance company Munich Re has withdrawn the issuance of its latest catastrophe bond, Queen Street X Re Limited, as investor appetite was likely not strong enough to get the transaction completed at the size and pricing desired.

The entry of alternative capital and its focus on non-life reinsurance opportunities has ‘created stress’ within the traditional market, according to Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of global multiline property casualty insurer and reinsurer ACE.

Companies should be required to report on and disclose their natural disaster risks as a standard procedure, according to leaders speaking at a United Nations summit hosted by the International Insurance Society (IIS) and organised by Willis Group in London today.

A new report titled ‘Risky Business’ that focuses on the need for U.S. companies to treat climate change as any other business threat has been released, warning that climate change will cost businesses billions.

The growth rate of global non-life and life insurance premiums was slower in 2013, then the rate seen in 2012, but both are expected to strengthen during 2014, according to one of the world’s largest reinsurance firms Swiss Re.

For many investors a high return is not the only reason for looking at alternative asset classes and hedge funds. Research shows many only seek a 4% to 6% return, information that will comfort the insurance linked investment market at a time of softer prices.

Each Wednesday morning we send out a regular weekly e-mail newsletter, featuring a rundown of the last seven days catastrophe bond, insurance-linked securities (ILS), reinsurance capital and associated risk transfer news from Artemis.