Archive for March, 2016

Global reinsurance firm Munich Re said today that it does not expect to repeat the profits it made in 2015 this year, noting an expected continuation of competitive pressures, the probability of higher catastrophe claims and as lower returns factor into overall profitability.

In recent times alternative, or third-party reinsurance capital growth has outpaced that of the traditional market, a trend underlined by cedants increasingly viewing it as a source of capacity that complements their traditional reinsurance coverage, and promotes innovation.

The current near-record El Niño event appears on the wane, with conditions attributed to the phenomenon said to be in decline, but its effects set to be felt for some time to come, with insurance and reinsurance firms now turning their heads to the possible development of La Niña conditions.

An estimated $6 billion of catastrophe bonds were traded in the secondary market in 2015, underlining increased liquidity in the sector as investors become more and more comfortable with the asset class, according to Steve Emmerson of Tullett Prebon.

Global reinsurance firm Munich Re has announced the appointment of Joachim Wenning as its new CEO, after its Supervisory Board accepted the request by Nikolaus von Bomhard to leave the Board of Management and step down as the firms CEO on 26th April 2017.

China’s insurance and reinsurance sector regulator, the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Committee (CIRC), has elicited feedback from its market participants and global players on proposed legislation for catastrophe bonds and so-called insurance liability securitisation structures.

This is a commentary by Samir Shah, ex-Head of Insurance Capital Markets at AIG, on our article titled ‘Disclosure of risk analysis in ILS offerings benefits investors: SIFMA speakers’, published March 11, 2016, in which he explains that the question should not be whether to disclose, but rather how to make disclosure efficient and reliable.

Trading activity and pricing in the secondary market for catastrophe bonds was mixed in February, as a reasonable balance of trading helped the market avoid feeling over bought or sold, while issuance levels didn’t force too much investor portfolio activity.

The property & casualty run-off focused insurance-linked investment fund operated by the Credit Suisse  insurance-linked strategies team and sub-advisor ILS Investment Management (ILSIM), has completed the acquisition of Rampart Insurance Company from Groupama SA.

The growing influence of ILS and the capital markets in reinsurance is exacerbating pressure on rates, terms and conditions, while the expanding remit of alternative capital is eroding prices across a broader swathe of the market, according to A.M. Best’s Chief Rating Officer.