Archive for May, 2018

Bermudian insurance and reinsurance group Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited grew its book at the January 2018 renewals, with CEO Chris O’Kane saying it was the first quarter in the firms history when it underwrote more than $1 billion of premium, but a significant proportion was actually ceded to retrocession and third-party capital it appears.

Global insurance and reinsurance player Swiss Re has reported expansion in the first-quarter of 2018, as it underwrote more premiums across much of its business, reported better returns in property and casualty reinsurance, but noted that while the price environment is improving, it’s still challenging the firm.

As the negotiations between reinsurance giant Swiss Re and technology and telecoms investor SoftBank are reported to have stalled, with the pair said unable to agree on the size of the stake, among other things. Perhaps SoftBank could put its innovation hat on and leverage ILS trends as a way to do something different in […]

U.S. primary insurance firm Nationwide Mutual’s return to the catastrophe bond market in 2018 looks set to result in a bumper issuance, as the still-being-marketed Caelus Re V Ltd. (Series 2018-1) has grown by 50% to now offer investors $450 million of U.S. catastrophe risk exposed notes.

Global broker and advisory Willis Towers Watson has announced that it is to integrate its insurance-linked securities (ILS) offering into its reinsurance broking division Willis Re, a step that will differentiate it from other brokers that keep ILS in their investment banking unit.

The early indications on the upcoming mid-year June and July 2018 reinsurance renewals are that capital is being deployed “aggressively”, according to RenaissanceRe CEO Kevin O’Donnell, suggesting that any rate increases achieved may be dampened to a degree.

The difference between the best and worst performing funds among insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and collateralized reinsurance strategies tracked by the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index widened to 4.05%, as loss adjustments drove the Index to a negative -0.24% return for March 2018.

Commentary on rate improvements experienced at specialty insurance and reinsurance group Lancashire Holdings Limited suggest that the enlarged portfolio underwritten by its third-party collateralized reinsurance capital unit Kinesis Capital Management will deliver more profits throughout the year ahead.

Blockchain is a potential game-changer for the insurance and reinsurance sector, according to Fitch Ratings, who forecast that the technology will become increasingly embedded in the fabric of the re/insurance market over the coming years and that ILS related use-cases will continue to emerge as well.

Bermudian reinsurance firm RenaissanceRe significantly increased its appetite to underwrite property catastrophe risks in the first-quarter, thanks to improved market conditions, but subsequently ceded more to third-party capital through its Upsilon RFO and DaVinciRe vehicles.