Archive for May, 2019

Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has now signed into law the bill that aims to reform the practice of assignment of benefits (AOB), so increasing the chances that the insurance and reinsurance market can get a firmer grip on the runaway claims inflation seen with recent hurricanes that hit the state.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center says there is a 30% chance that the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season sees above normal levels of activity and warns of factors including El Nino and a warmer than normal Atlantic that can affect intensity of the season.

One of the longest-standing insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers Coriolis Capital Limited has been acquired by SCOR Investment Partners, the investment arm of reinsurance giant SCOR.

OppenheimerFunds, Inc, the asset manager that is in the process of being acquired by investment giant Invesco to create a $1.2 trillion global powerhouse, has seen the assets under management of its catastrophe bond and related insurance-linked security (ILS) fund stabilise, but losses are evident in the annual return figures.

American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida, Inc’s newest and third catastrophe bond, the Integrity Re Ltd. (Series 2019-1) transaction, is now targeting up to $75 million in size, with pricing fixed at the top-end of initial guidance.

London-based Pension Insurance Corp. (PIC) has again increased the volume of longevity reinsurance it is using, as the firm announced participating in another buy-in, this time for the Marks & Spencer pension fund.

The second catastrophe bond to be issued in the UK for sponsoring French reinsurance company SCOR is set to upsize, as the multi-peril Atlas Capital UK 2019 PLC (Series 2019-1) transaction is expected to reach $250 million.

Nephila Capital, the world’s largest asset manager of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and other catastrophe or weather linked reinsurance instruments, was involved in work to help Australian agribusiness GrainCorp.

The latest catastrophe bond to be sponsored by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), the $200 million Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2019-1) transaction, is set to price at the mid-point of initial guidance, we’re told.

The latest catastrophe bond from U.S. primary insurer Safepoint, the Manatee Re III Pte. Ltd. (Series 2019-1) transaction which is being issued out of Singapore, looks set for pricing above the initial guidance range, as investors demand more return for the risk they are taking on.