Archive for January, 2020

Reinsurance giant Swiss Re is back with a second catastrophe bond for 2020, seeking up to $275 million of retrocessional protection with a Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2020-2) transaction that will cover it against certain losses from U.S. named storms and hurricanes, as well as extreme mortality exposures.

The worsening outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China has brought the World Bank’s pandemic catastrophe bond transaction back into focus and it turns out that China was seen as the most probable source of a coronavirus outbreak that could trigger the IBRD CAR 111-112 notes.

The latest catastrophe bond to be sponsored by Zenkyoren (the Japanese National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives), one of the world’s largest reinsurance buyers, looks set to upsize by 33% to provide the insurer $200 million of protection, but pricing has been fixed at the top-end of guidance.

Reports from and sources in Japan suggest demand surge is set to be an issue with claims from typhoon Hagibis, as a lack of claims professionals, assessors and loss adjusters has been noted to be slowing the process of insurance claims filing and is expected to inflate claims amounts.

U.S. mortgage insurer Radian Guaranty, part of the Radian Group, has returned to the capital markets for another slice of mortgage reinsurance from a securitized catastrophe bond like structure, with a $488.4 million Eagle Re 2020-1 Ltd. transaction.

Significant insurance and reinsurance industry players are backing a new non-profit start-up that aims to drive forwards the development of an open standard for sharing climate data, with the goal of enabling better design and development of climate risk related financial products along with the use of artificial intelligence.

The quantum of an eventual reinsurance market loss from the Australian bushfire disaster remains highly uncertain, as the specific terms and conditions defining an event on individual reinsurance programs will matter, according to A.M. Best.

Travelers, the U.S. primary insurance giant, made $101 million of reinsurance recoveries under its aggregate catastrophe treaty in 2019, as its losses surpassed the attachment point for this layer of its program in the fourth quarter of the year.

Fidelis Insurance, the specialty insurance and reinsurance firm launched by Richard Brindle, has announced a new senior hire as it continues to build its expertise in outwards reinsurance and especially quota shares.

Issuance of the Stratosphere Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond has now been successfully completed without upsizing at $100 million but at the lowest end of pricing, offering an efficient source of tail-risk protection to the largest ILS fund manager in the market Nephila Capital.