Some insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds that invest in collateralised reinsurance contracts have been setting reserves for potential exposure to business interruption losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic in a handful of the major European catastrophe reinsurance programs, we understand.

A forecast for Australian bushfire risk for the summer months of December 2020 through February 2021 suggests that forested areas could see normal levels of risk, while higher-risk is seen for grassland or crop growing areas of the south and in particular south east of the country.

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is expected to continue to experience an upward trajectory next year, with growth in ILS allocations expected in 2021, according to investment manager Twelve Capital.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) market return potential is on the rise and in some cases the portfolios constructed, or added to, at the January 1st 2021 reinsurance renewals, are going to offer significantly higher return potential to investors.

Two insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds operated by Zurich based specialist catastrophe bond and ILS investment manager Plenum Investments have been accredited with a sustainability FNG Label by the German “Forum Nachhaltige Geldanlagen e.V.”

The first catastrophe bond to be sponsored directly for the benefit of Alphabet, Inc., the holding company for Google and its many units, has now been priced on-target at the mid-point of guidance, while the Phoenician Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1)  cat bond transaction will close at the same $237.5 million size it launched at.

The Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance market is expecting hardening market conditions to enable its syndicates to grow largely through achieving better rates, with many not expected to assume greater exposures according to plans, CEO John Neal said today.

Within both the market and contracts the exclusion of communicable diseases is unsurprisingly a key focus, but there are other, similarly difficult to predict losses that companies should be examining, according to industry experts.

Reinsurance capital could find itself on the hook for the largest share of COVID-19 losses from second waves of the virus sweeping Europe, with primary insurers largely happy with their loss-picks so far, analysts at Barclays have said.

China’s western region and in particular the municipality of Chongqing with its population of over 31 million, which includes the megacity of the same name, could benefit from cooperation on topics such as disaster insurance, with catastrophe bonds seen as an opportunity, according to the Singapore government’s Monetary Authority.

SCOR Investment Partners, the asset management company of the global reinsurance group SCOR, has continued to add new capital to one of its core insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategies, the Atropos, which has now exceeded the $1 billion mark in terms of assets under management.

The use of advanced technology and improvements in data and analytics to develop innovative parametric triggers is a stimulating proposition, both in the natural catastrophe space and beyond, according to Jonathan Clark, Head of Public Sector at reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.