Archive for January, 2016

The increased duration of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bond transactions in recent times is an indication of improved market sophistication, as investor comfort with the asset class increases, according to the IAIS.

Yesterday, KPMG in Bermuda announced the retirement of Jason Carne, Partner and Managing Director in the Insurance practice, as well as the promotions of a number of executives to the leadership team.

Willis Towers Watson, the insurance and reinsurance broker and global professional services firm, says that it expects over £20 billion of longevity risk transfer and longevity swap or hedging deals in 2016, but with the year starting slowly.

Health insurance firm Aetna is returning to the capital markets in search of another $200 million or more of fully-collateralised reinsurance protection for losses under its health insurance medical benefit ratio, through a Vitality Re VII Ltd. (Series 2016-1) ILS issuance.

The participation of the capital markets and institutional investors in the insurance and reinsurance markets continued to grow in 2015, with insurance-linked investor inflows exceeding outflows, taking dedicated ILS capital to $70 billion, according to Willis.

This is our first in a series of articles featuring the thoughts of leading figures in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance on the market as we move into 2016. The first piece features Rick Miller and Michael Popkin, Co-heads of Insurance Linked Securities at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets.

The slow-down in the growth of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment capital and capacity is a “healthy response” to current reinsurance market conditions, according to rating agency A.M. Best.

The average return of insurance-linked funds in November 2015 reached 0.31%, taking the return for the year to 30th November across a group of 32 ILS, reinsurance linked and catastrophe bond funds, to 4.15%.

Alternative capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) may be a “more efficient risk engine” for the insurance and reinsurance market, providing evidence for structural change and the death of the underwriting cycle, according to Aon Benfield.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has reported that the recent UK flooding will cost insurers at least £1.3 billion ($1.9 billion). At the same time the loss, at whatever its final level, has been reported to cause attritional loss to some ILS funds.