Best of Artemis, week ending 25th November 2012

We hope our U.S. readers enjoyed their Thanksgiving break. Here is our regular Monday morning update to ease you back into work and give you a chance to catch up on all the news from the markets we cover. As always, you can read every market news story and article on the Artemis news blog, subscribe to our weekly email newsletter update and for your convenience here are the ten most popular news articles from the last seven days on Artemis.

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 25th November 2012:

1. PCS issues first Sandy insurance industry loss estimate of $11 billion
   One of the most awaited numbers in the insurance, reinsurance, catastrophe bond and associated investment markets has been the insurance industry loss estimate from Property Claims Services (PCS) for hurricane Sandy.  PCS have released an initial insurance industry loss estimate, which is perhaps lower than many were expecting, of $11 billion.
2. ILS Advisers begin marketing first ILS Index Fund
   Investment consultancy ILS Advisers has begun marketing the first ILS Index Fund. The ILS Index Fund will be the first investment vehicle of its kind, allowing investors to take a passive approach to investing across the asset class as a whole and offering the first ILS fund-of-funds investment opportunity.
3. As Sandy loss estimates rise to $25B, what does this mean for cat bonds?
   As is to be expected after a natural catastrophe event with the size and reach of hurricane and post-tropical storm Sandy, the estimates of insurance industry losses keep rising. This is typical of a complex, never seen in recent times, catastrophe event.
4. Stone Ridge Asset Management to launch two reinsurance-linked funds
   A new investment management firm, formed this year and headquartered in New York, is launching two reinsurance-linked investment funds targeting investors looking for either a medium yield or high yield approach to reinsurance investing.
5. Catastrophe bond indices slide again, price returns now down 3.5% since Sandy
   So the post-Sandy recovery of secondary market prices of outstanding catastrophe bonds has begun on cat bonds which aren’t exposed, but the last week saw further declines in both price and total returns. This is likely a reaction to increasing pessimism regarding the industry losses from the storm and also a downgrade of one exposed cat bond.
6. Endurance buys Galileo Weather Risk Management launches own weather risk unit
   Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda-based specialty property and casualty insurance and reinsurance provider, announces that it has bought weather risk management solutions specialist Galileo Weather Risk Management.
7. Dexion Capital postpone DCG Iris share offering due to Sandy uncertainty
   Over a month ago we covered investment manager Dexion Capital’s plans to expand and grow their DCG Iris Ltd. insurance-linked security fund through a series of share offerings. Now, thanks to the uncertainty that remains around hurricane Sandy, the first share offering has been postponed.
8. Risk premium and expected loss of the last years catastrophe bond issuance
   In our final look at some of the data points from the recent Willis Capital Markets & Advisory ILS market report we wanted to draw your attention to their charts showing the risk premium and expected loss of cat bond primary issuance.
9. Insurance-linked securities (ILS) can change the reinsurance landscape for the better
   The trend for reinsurers to launch vehicles providing alternative forms of reinsurance capital continues apace, with sidecars, catastrophe funds, insurance-linked security funds and collateralized reinsurance vehicles, being backed by some of the largest traditional reinsurance firms this year.
10. Demand raises Residential Re 2012-2 catastrophe bond to $400m
    At a time when the catastrophe bond market is still uncertain about the impact, or otherwise, of hurricane Sandy on exposed cat bond notes it is encouraging to hear that demand for new issuance remains high.

To ensure you always stay up to date with Artemis subscribe to our weekly email newsletter update.

If you’re looking for details on catastrophe bond and ILS transactions our Deal Directory has more than 260 listed.

Get listed in our MarketView directory of professionals.

For tropical storm and hurricane tracking visit our 2012 Atlantic Hurricane Season page.