Archive for March, 2021

As the insurance-linked securities (ILS) pie continues to expand it’s natural for new jurisdictions to emerge and try to take a slice, but the innovative Bermuda marketplace is expected to maintain its leadership position, according to Ross Webber, Managing Director at independent financial services provider and fund administrator, Apex Group Ltd.

Australia’s flooding catastrophe event continues and has spread, with the Insurance Council warning that its estimate of losses has already reached A$254 million as of early today, while its designation of the catastrophe event has expanded to include South East Queensland.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) will aim to secure $1.9 billion of protection before the hurricane season from a mix of catastrophe bonds and traditional reinsurance, but its Board also directed its broker to secure pricing for an extra potential $1 billion placement.

The recent completion of the world’s first pure volcanic risk catastrophe bond for its sponsor the Danish Red Cross, is an impressive example of the use of insurance-linked securities (ILS) in the humanitarian field, according to one of the investors in the bond, Plenum Investments AG.

If the global risk transfer industry ramps up its efforts around transparency, it would become a far more attractive space for the growing pool of environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investors, says Marcus Rivaldi, Managing Director of Analytics at Twelve Capital.

The UK Government’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new consultation on the tax treatment of insurance-linked securities (ILS) in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of the UK ILS regulatory and tax regime.

The Board of insurer The Hartford has rejected the acquisition offer made recently by larger rival Chubb, saying that its Board concluded that the deal was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

Oasis, the open source catastrophe risk modelling platform, has received significant backing from insurance and reinsurance sector leading firms for the continued development and expansion of its Oasis Oasis Loss Modelling Framework and open source standards.

The recent completion of the world’s first pure volcanic risk catastrophe bond is a demonstration of Guernsey’s insurance-linked securities (ILS) credentials, Paul Sykes, Managing Director at Aon has said.

Corant Global, the rebranded BGC Insurance arm, has announced the establishment of a Bermuda reinsurance broking operation, with Kevin Stratton hired from RFIB to lead the unit.