Best of Artemis, week ending 18th April 2021

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 18th April 2021, covering catastrophe bonds, ILS, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics. To ensure you never miss a thing subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates or get our email alerts for every article we publish.

Ten most read articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 18th April 2021:

1. EC extends Aon – Willis Towers Watson merger deadline again
   Having restarted the clock and extended the deadline for a decision on the process to approve or deny the proposed merger of insurance and reinsurance broking giants Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) just a few days ago, the European Commission (EC) has now pushed it forwards again by another roughly two weeks.
2. Horseshoe names Kathleen Faries CEO, Perez to become Executive Chairman
   Horseshoe, the Bermuda-headquartered insurance or reinsurance management, fund administration, insurance-linked securities (ILS) specialist and Artex company, has appointed well-known industry executive Kathleen Faries as its new CEO.
3. Cat bond & ILS hard market may be coming to an end: Lane Financial
   There is evidence that the hard market in catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) may be coming to an end, as data suggests that softening may finally have begun and could continue if 2021 remains loss free, according to consultancy Lane Financial LLC.
4. 2021 hurricane season forecast 25-30% above long-term avg: TSR
   The latest forecast update for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season from Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) raises the teams prediction for number of named storms and hurricanes slightly, suggesting activity levels that could be up to 30% above the long-term average.
5. Reinsurance underwriting performance improves, but ROE declines: Willis Re
   The underwriting performance of reinsurance firms tracked by broker Willis Re improved in 2020, with the group reporting the first full-year improvement in normalised combined ratio since at least 2014, albeit still over 100.
6. AGCS names Brown head of Capital Solutions, as Boyd to depart
   Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed David Brown as its new head of Capital Solutions, a team focused on the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, transferring insurance risk to capital markets, as the current unit leader Richard Boyd is leaving the firm.
7. Nationwide’s aggregate rises on winter storms, Caelus cat bond losses possible
   The catastrophe bond market looks set to face some additional losses under Caelus Re catastrophe bonds sponsored by US primary insurance giant Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, as its aggregate risk period losses have risen after February’s US winter storms and Texas freeze.
8. California wildfire season could be extreme in 2021, warn experts
   Scientists, meteorologists and other experts with a view on wildfire related conditions in the state of California are warning of the potential for an extreme, potentially catastrophic 2021 wildfire season, as tinder dry conditions begin particularly early in the year.
9. Allstate’s March cat losses increase recoveries under Sanders cat bonds
   US primary insurer Allstate revealed today that its catastrophe losses, before reinsurance, subrogation recoveries and taxes totalled $1.67 billion for the first-quarter of 2021, a significant proportion of which will be offset by recoveries under reinsurance and also its Sanders catastrophe bonds, it seems.
10. Vantage Risk targets first catastrophe bond with $150m Vista Re
    Vantage Risk, the insurance and reinsurance start-up launched by industry veterans Greg Hendrick and Dinos Iordanou, is in the market to sponsor its first catastrophe bond, with a $150 million Vista Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1) North American multi-peril deal.

This is not every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular among our readers over the last seven days. There were 38 new articles published in the last week. To ensure you always stay up to date with Artemis and never miss a story subscribe to our weekly email newsletter which is delivered every Wednesday.

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