Archive for May, 2018

The latest catastrophe bond issuance sponsored by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) could be set to increase in size, as we understand that the Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) multi-peril cat bond is now targeting up to $400 million of collateralized reinsurance for the residual market property insurer.

The World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) has made its first cash disbursement, providing a $12 million grant to assist in the response to the recent Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the number of cases and deaths reported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) rises.

Australia and New Zealand homeowner and motor insurer Youi is returning to the capital markets for the fourth year in succession, as it seeks a 2018 renewal for its now regular collateralized reinsurance note placement, again with the help of Rewire Holdings and Horseshoe Re, we understand.

Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has hired Richard Carver from Aon as a new Managing Director and Senior Broker in the firm’s UK non-marine division, adding new expertise across both property and casualty classes of reinsurance business.

The owner of private equity backed international insurance and reinsurance broker RFIB Group Ltd. is rebranding to Risk Transfer Group (RTG), as part of a strategy to double revenues in three years, to include setting up a Guernsey protected cell company (PCC) and recognising that combining InsurTech and the capital markets is a significant opportunity.

A recent outbreak of severe convective storm weather, so featuring tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, large hail and strong winds, which has been dubbed the “Ring of Fire” is expected to result in insurance and reinsurance industry losses of $2.5 billion, by catastrophe modellers Karen Clark & Company.

Equity research analysts from Morgan Stanley and JMP Securities both expect that the mid-year reinsurance renewals at June and July 1st will see prices largely flat, but with some pockets of loss affected accounts up a few percentage points, which is far from the rate environment that had been hoped for.

Over the last two decades Nephila Capital has become the world’s largest insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager. While the industry has taken positive strides in this period, there are just as many challenges today as there was 20 years ago, but change is coming, according to the firm’s co-founder and principal, Frank Majors.

The capital markets are becoming increasingly influential in reinsurance, according to broker Aon Benfield, who recognises that the growth achieved by insurance-linked securities (ILS) specialists puts them on an ever more even footing with traditional reinsurers.

RKH Reinsurance Brokers, part of the global Hyperion Group, is hiring Nick Griffiths from RFIB to join the firms’ reinsurance broking practice, bringing them experience in transacting with alternative and ILS markets.