Archive for November, 2016

Kelvin Re Ltd., the rated reinsurance vehicle operated by Credit Suisse Insurance Linked Strategies Ltd. and backed by an investment from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, has increased its gross premiums written in 2016 to over $150 million of catastrophe reinsurance cover.

The African Risk Capacity (ARC), Africa’s sovereign parametric catastrophe insurance pool, is to make a US$8 million payout to Malawi after its 2015/16 agricultural season parametric drought insurance policy was triggered by ARC’s model.

Bermuda-based Iris Reinsurance Ltd., an index and parametric focused third-party capitalised collateralised insurance and reinsurance company, is to report its modelled net asset value on a regular basis as its manager Cartesian Re opts for transparency in ILS.

In recent times illiquid insurance-linked securities (ILS) investments, such as collateralised reinsurance, has overtaken the catastrophe bond space as the main source of ILS capacity. But the benefits of a liquid asset class and the expansion of third-party capital could increase demand for liquid ILS, according to WCMA.

Rating agency A.M. Best has changed a proposed update to its Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) that would have seen catastrophe risk become a direct capital requirement and has also reduced the emphasis on catastrophe tail risks in the capital adequacy calculation.

The Vietnam Ministry of Finance and the World Bank in Vietnam, at a workshop on disaster risk finance and insurance, discussed the need for a financial protection strategy to better protect the country and its residents against the financial and social impacts of natural disasters.

The Microinsurance Catastrophe Risk Organisation (MiCRO), a Barbados based reinsurance company that leverages the capital efficiency of the international reinsurance market alongside donor capital, has launched a novel index-linked business interruption policy.

As the convergence space continues to evolve and traditional and alternative reinsurance capital and structures become more integrated, along with the rise of technology in the sector, market leaders have questioned what this could mean for intermediaries and their role in the value chain.

According to a new report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), natural catastrophes push some 26 million people into poverty and cost a staggering $520 billion in losses, each year, underlining the importance of disaster risk finance and improved disaster resilience.

Secondary catastrophe bond trading picked up towards the end of the month in October 2016 after a slow start to the month. Primary issuance stimulated some trading and the post-hurricane Matthew released pressure on affected secondary marks.