Archive for August, 2014

The first-half of 2014 saw global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the property/casualty (P/C) and reinsurance industries continue at a steady pace, according to A.M. Best, with a trend emerging towards M&A for global diversification purposes.

Rate increases for commercial property & casualty insurance lines of business slowed to a decline in the second-quarter, according to data from the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, with commercial property large account business leading the way.

A new reinsurance brokerage has been launched in Australia, with a capital markets focus on securing the best terms for its clients. Steadfast Re has launched after a management buyout led by Simon Cloney of Beach & Associates Pty Ltd. (Beach Sydney).

Munich Re’s Queen Street III Capital Ltd. catastrophe bond which matured last week saw a shortfall in the amount of principal repaid to investors, as the cat bonds exposure to last years U.S. debt ceiling financial issue shrank the capital returned to investors.

Zurich-based insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment management firm Twelve Capital has announced the completion of its fourth privately placed catastrophe bond transaction, Dodeka III a $10m U.S. multi-peril deal.

Bermuda-based reinsurer and third-party reinsurance capital management specialist RenaissanceRe is not actively looking for new third-party investors in the current reinsurance market environment, according to CEO Kevin O’Donnell.

Reports this morning state that the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, will take 50% of Bermudian reinsurance company Ariel Re in a deal alongside Grupo BTG Pactual, Brazil’s only public investment bank.

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 3rd August 2014, on catastrophe bonds, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics, from the last seven days on Artemis. To ensure you never miss a thing  subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates.

Super typhoon Halong, the latest storm in the western Pacific typhoon season, has intensified to super typhoon status with sustained winds currently over 150mph and threatens to make a landfall on southern Japan late next week.

The second named storm of the 2014 Atlantic Tropical Storm & Hurricane Season has formed and is taking aim at the Caribbean islands, with maximum sustained winds of 50mph and possible rainfall amounts of up to 10 inches locally in some areas.