Best of Artemis, week ending 21st February 2021

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 21st February 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 21st February 2021:

1. KCC estimates US winter storm insurance industry loss at $18bn
   Catastrophe risk modelling specialist Karen Clark & Company has updated its estimate for insurance and reinsurance market losses from the ongoing winter storm event in the United States, which has been named winter storm Uri, to $18 billion, reflecting the widespread and severe impacts felt.
2. The next-generation of ILS is already in development
   The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has never stood still during its relatively young, approximately 25 year history. But it’s clear that the ILS industry is acutely focused on delivering more evolutionary change and progress at this time, with the next-generation of ILS risk transfer and investment opportunities already in development.
3. Aon & Willis Towers Watson merger to “significantly lessen competition”
   The Aon and Willis Towers Watson (WTW) merger will “significantly lessen competition” in the supply of commercial risk, reinsurance and employee benefits broking, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is concerned.
4. Zaffino highlights critical evolution of AIG reinsurance program at 1/1
   American International Group’s (AIG) reinsurance program has undergone a critical evolution over the last year with a range of changes now made at the January 1st 2021 renewals to reflect the underlying changes to the insurers portfolio, incoming CEO Peter Zaffino has explained.
5. Quota shares & aggregates drive reinsurance cat losses in 2020: Jefferies
   Industry losses from catastrophes and severe weather events are estimated to have reached $87.3 billion in 2020 by the Jefferies equity analyst team, but with frequency a significant factor, it’s assumed the main source of losses for reinsurance capital was through quota share and aggregate covers.
6. Cat bonds: Structurally diversifying & primed for growth, says Neuberger Berman
   Catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities are one of the “very few genuinely, structurally diversifying asset classes,” according to the Neuberger Berman Insurance-Linked Strategies team, who give the asset class a positive outlook for 2021.
7. Rising prices make ILS attractive, overweight P&C cat bonds & ILS: K2
   Insurance-linked securities (ILS) returns are set to benefit from rising pricing in reinsurance and retrocession, which makes the market an attractive point of entry right now and leads hedge fund specialist manager K2 Advisors to an overweight assessment for P&C ILS and catastrophe bonds.
8. Universal takes almost $100m Q4 hit from catastrophes & loss creep
   Universal Insurance Holdings, the Florida headquartered, nationally expansive primary insurance carrier, announced last night that it has taken a nearly $100 million hit from catastrophe losses and loss creep from prior year events during the fourth-quarter of 2020.
9. FEMA’s new flood cat bond to settle at upsized $575m, prices down
   The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be delighted with the outcome of its latest visit to the catastrophe bond market, as its FloodSmart Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1)  issuance will now secure the upsized target of $557 million of reinsurance protection, while pricing has been fixed at the bottom of an already reduced range.
10. ESG and insurance-linked securities (ILS): Q&A with PCS’s Tom Johansmeyer
    Insurance-linked securities (ILS) market participants, as well as wider insurance and reinsurance related interests, are increasingly focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and embracing positive ESG principles and processes within their business models.

This is not every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular, some of which were published over a week ago. There were 34 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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