Best of Artemis, week ending 24th May 2020

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 24th May 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 24th May 2020:

1. Reinsurers withhold renewal capacity, as Berkshire & D.E. Shaw quote more
   Some reinsurance firms and also a number of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds have been holding back capacity in the hopes of finding a less competitive and even more profitable market opportunity after the main mid-year renewals are over, as cedents are expected to need additional top-up and hedging capacity.
2. Reinsurers cite 25% – 45% Florida increases, as U-shape disappears: KBW
   Reinsurance companies and brokers in Bermuda are calling for Florida renewal rate increases to be significant, averaging between 25% to 45% and also believe that they will be enduring, so perhaps set a new floor for catastrophe reinsurance pricing in the state.
3. 2021 to be hardest P&C market for some time, start-ups likely: Analysts
   Market forces suggest that 2021 could see the hardest property and casualty (P&C) insurance and reinsurance market conditions for a long time, according to equity analysts at Wells Fargo Securities.
4. Covid-19 pandemic “showcased” value of cat bonds to investors: S&P
   Catastrophe bonds are expected to face increasing investor demand over the coming months, as during the Covid-19 pandemic these instruments have “showcased” their benefits to global investors once again, according to S&P Global Ratings.
5. June 1st Florida reinsurance renewals hit by “perfect storm” – TigerRisk’s O’Neill
   The Florida reinsurance renewals have been hit by a “perfect storm” of market conditions, according to TigerRisk Partners exec Brian O’Neill, who who says support from core reinsurance partners will be critical to help carriers weather the storm.
6. Irrational pricing drove Florida Citizens to pull cat bond layer: CFO Montero
   Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation withdrew one layer of its latest issuance from the catastrophe bond market at the mid-year renewal, as it found that capital market investors are looking for “irrational returns” and wasn’t willing to lock in pricing over a multi-year basis at those rates, CFO Jennifer Montero explained to us.
7. Volatile ILS fund flows to continue as Covid-19 economic hit persists
   Insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers and reinsurance companies managing third-party capital are likely to see continuing volatility in terms of investor inflows and outflows, as the broader implications of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to emerge.
8. Fidelis sponsoring first catastrophe bond, a $100m Herbie Re Ltd. deal
   A new catastrophe bond sponsor is coming to market in the shape of Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, the specialty insurance and reinsurance firm launched by Richard Brindle, which has launched its first transaction, a $100 million Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) multi-peril cat bond deal.
9. ILS fund underwriters down pens on Florida renewals
   We’re told that underwriters from some of the biggest insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers have effectively “downed pens” on the Florida reinsurance renewals, in reaction to the pricing and terms on offer.
10. Hyperion X & Vario seeing “massive interest” for whole-account ILS product
    Around six weeks into a joint collaboration to offer insurers and reinsurers a new collateralised whole-account reinsurance offering backed by insurance-linked securities (ILS), Hyperion X and Vario Partners LLP told us they are seeing significant interest.

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 40 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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