Best of Artemis, week ending 21st June 2020

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 21st June 2020, 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 June 2020:

1. Property cat seen +5-15%, retrocession +20-25% at July 1st renewal: KBW
   Expectations for further strong rate increases at the July 1st reinsurance renewals are clear, with analysts from KBW explaining that the market is discussing increases of between +5% to +15% for U.S. southeast property catastrophe reinsurance programs, with retrocession rates seen up even more at +20% to +25%.
2. Aeolus makes raft of leadership promotions
   Aeolus Capital Management Ltd., the Bermuda based reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused investment fund manager, has made a raft of leadership promotions within its business, as a natural progression following the 2017 buy-in of investment manager Elliott Management Corporation.
3. 2020 catastrophe bond & ILS issuance hits $8.25bn, spreads continue to rise
   Cat bond issuance has continued apace in recent weeks, with total catastrophe bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance for 2020 so far now reaching almost $8.25 billion, according to Artemis’ Deal Directory data.
4. Weston & its acquiree Anchor have ratings withdrawn by Demotech
   Windstorm focused primary insurance carrier Weston Insurance Company has had its rating withdrawn by Demotech, which market sources suggest may be partly down to challenges it faced in filling out its reinsurance tower at the recent renewals.
5. High cat bond yields not the new-normal: John Seo, Fermat
   Elevated catastrophe bond yields that are a result of investor demand for higher returns following heavy loss years and Covid-19-induced market disruption, “cannot be called the new normal,” according to John Seo of Fermat Capital Management, LLC.
6. Willis Re hires Kirsten van Exel, former Aegon ILS underwriter
   Global reinsurance broker Willis Re, part of the Willis Towers Watson group of companies, has announced the hiring of Kirsten van Exel, who was most recently an insurance-linked securities (ILS) underwriter for Netherlands headquartered global life insurance company, annuities provider and pension investment manager Aegon.
7. Florida rates may still not cover true cost of risk: Nottingham, Hiscox Re & ILS
   When thinking about the recent firming or even hardening of the Florida reinsurance market at the June renewals, it’s important to understand that even the rate increases achieved may not always be sufficient to cover the true cost of risk in the state, according to Ross Nottingham of Hiscox Re & ILS.
8. ILS funds shift to more remote layers & tighter terms in hard(er) market
   As well as enhancing their returns thanks to rising pricing, insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers are seeking to capitalise on the hardening reinsurance and retrocession market in a number of other ways that could result in their portfolios delivering better returns and becoming less volatile.
9. Walking a capital raising tightrope between glory & rate pressure
   Capital top-ups, recapitalisation and fresh start-up capitalisation efforts are accelerating in insurance and reinsurance markets, as founders and investors look to make the most of the firming to hardening rate environment that is being seen widely across the sector.
10. Apollo / Athene’s ACRA sidecar funds 63% of $27bn Pru reinsurance transaction
    Apollo Global Management has put its third-party capitalised sidecar vehicle for life and retirement investment opportunities, the Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate (ACRA), to good use in completing a massive $27 billion fixed annuity block reinsurance transaction and investment in a subsidiary of Prudential plc.

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 36 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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