Best of Artemis, week ending 21st January 2018

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 21st January 2018, 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.

Ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 21st January 2018:

1. Alternative capital has “altered reinsurance market dynamics” – Fitch
   Alternative capital has been responsible for a change in reinsurance market dynamics, as following the major losses of 2017 reinsurance pricing has not rebounded as it typically would have in the past, suggesting that the reinsurance market cycle is now flatter than it used to be, according to Fitch.

2. 2018 set to be a record year, as ILS replaces lost capital: John Seo, Fermat
   2018 is set to be a record year for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS), according to John Seo of Fermat Capital Management, as the market recovers from recent major catastrophe events, replaces lost capital and its investors show growing interest in allocating to reinsurance linked investments.

3. Terra Brasis Re and AlphaCat private catastrophe bond renewed for 2018
   The private catastrophe bond sponsored by Latin American reinsurance firm Terra Brasis Re and underwritten as well as invested in by AlphaCat Managers, the insurance and reinsurance linked investment unit of Validus Group, has been renewed for 2018, in a $5 million Alpha Terra Validus II transaction.

4. Leadenhall invests in Australian life insurer Integrity Group
   London-headquartered specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance linked investment manager Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP has backed a new start-up life insurance operation in Australia, named Integrity Group Holdings Limited.

5. Harambee Re collateralized sidecar in 2018 renewal for Argo
   The Harambee Re collateralized reinsurance sidecar vehicle has been renewed for the 2018 underwriting year for international specialty insurance and reinsurance firm Argo Group, as it continues to leverage the capital markets to augment its capacity.

6. The time is right for cyber ILW trading: PCS
   There’s an opportunity right now to trade industry loss warranties (ILW’s) linked to cyber reinsurance risks, as a unique set of circumstances make ILW instruments a good fit for transferring cyber exposure, according to Tom Johansmeyer, Assistant Vice President, PCS Strategy & Development at ISO.

7. Alternative capital grows 9% in 2017 despite losses: Guy Carpenter
   The amount of alternative or convergence capital in the global reinsurance market grew by 9% over the course of 2017 to reach a high of $82 billion, according to broker Guy Carpenter, as despite the major losses the ILS market continue to outpace the traditional reinsurers for growth.

8. Lutece Re writes retro at 1/1, but rates still seen as challenging
   Lutece Re, a collateralized retrocession underwriting start-up launched by insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance linked asset manager Lutece Investment Management Ltd. began underwriting retrocession at the renewals, but found that the rate environment was “still challenging.”

9. Global Parametrics Natural Disaster Fund launched with Vision Fund initiative
   Global Parametrics, a parametric and index-based risk transfer start-up that’s backed by the UK and German governments, has launched a new climate insurance initiative, targeting African and Asian smallholder farmers, alongside VisionFund International, World Vision’s microfinance arm.

10. Lack of transparency hindered ILS hurricane loss estimation: Report
    Analysis by CreditSights questions industry estimates that roughly a quarter of alternative reinsurance capital was exposed to losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, adding that the majority of capital markets losses have been assumed by structures outside of the catastrophe bond space.

This is by no means every article published on Artemis during the last week, just the most popular, some of which were published over a week ago. There were 27 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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