Archive for March, 2016

Widespread flooding and severe convective thunderstorm weather in the U.S. over just the last week is expected to result in an economic loss of over $1 billion and insurance or reinsurance industry impact in the hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Aon Benfield.

Farmers in Kenya are set to benefit from the launch of a new innovative, index insurance scheme which utilises advanced technology and satellite data to assist agricultural workers in the face of flooding and drought conditions.

As the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market continues to mature as an asset class and find its place within the broader financial markets, investors in the sector might need to accept that current rates are perhaps the new norm and adjust their expectations.

The innovation and evolution of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space has seen its capacity get ever closer to primary insurance risk, supported by access to more detailed data and improved risk selection, according to John Butler of Twelve Capital.

Reinsurance companies won’t be designated as systemically important (G-SII) because they aren’t systemic, according to SCOR CEO Dennis Kessler, a view that is also held by rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

For the second time the UK government budget has included a measure related to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market. With the UK’s efforts to establish itself as an ILS friendly domicile underway, the government today outlined how it hopes they will be treated from a tax perspective.

Average returns on equity (ROE) across a group of property & casualty reinsurance firms operating in the U.S. have tumbled “materially” on an operating basis and “precipitously” on an income basis, according to rating agency Fitch.

Australia and New Zealand focused insurance firm Youi is back looking to access the ILS capacity with its second syndicated collateralized reinsurance note issuance, according to market sources, as it seeks to cement the use of capital markets cover within its reinsurance tower.

Future growth of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bond market will, in part, be driven by the increased entry of corporate and government sponsors in the space, according to Swiss Re Capital Markets Managing Director, Head of ILS Distribution, Judith Klugman.

Global reinsurance player Swiss Re has released its own measure of earnings performance today, reporting lower Economic Value Management (EVM) income and profit in 2015. But, perhaps more interestingly, the firm also noted its willingness to disrupt and bypass traditional channels to access risk.