Best of Artemis, week ending 26th June 2016

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 26th June 2016, 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.

Top ten most viewed articles on Artemis.bm, week ending 26th June 2016:

1. Pressures from ILS & reinsurance mounting in primary lines: A.M. Best
   Reduced profitability across reinsurance business has seen global reinsurers adjust portfolios to focus on slightly more attractive primary lines. But as headwinds continue to mount and the softening landscape persists pressure is growing in this sector too, according to ratings agency A.M. Best.

2. No immediate Brexit hit to ILS market, but structural issues to consider
   So, overnight the United Kingdom population has voted in favour of leaving the European Union, in what is to many a surprising result that presents a number of potential issues for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market to consider.

3. Reinsurance pressure to “increase further” (capacity & insurtech): EIOPA
   The global reinsurance market remains pressured due to overcapacity, stimulated by a lack of large losses causing excess capital among traditional reinsurers and the continued inflow of alternative capital, meaning the competitive pressures are likely to increase, according to EIOPA.

4. Rise of private ILS creates valuation complexities: Aaron Koch
   Increasingly, growth in the ILS sector has come from private transactions that closely resemble traditional reinsurance business, such as collateralised reinsurance, but these contracts and structures can be more difficult to value.

5. Might not be for Buffett, but ILS shows reinsurance is a desirable asset class
   Analysts at Bernstein have highlighted continued pressures in the global reinsurance marketplace, noting recent divestment in the sector by Warren Buffett. However, as evidenced by the continued influx of ILS capacity in the reinsurance space, just because it’s not right for Buffett doesn’t mean it’s not a desirable asset.

6. Nephila syndicate among top performers at Lloyd’s: S&P
   Nephila Syndicate 2357, the first Lloyd’s of London syndicate backed by an insurance-linked securities (ILS) manager, was among the top performers of all Lloyd’s syndicates in 2015, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

7. Reinsurance market at an “inflection point” – Newman, Willis Re
   Insurance and reinsurance market headwinds continue to hinder the profitability of market players and after a decade of “wonderful results,” the industry is more than likely at an inflection point, according to Andrew Newman, President of Willis Re.

8. Reinsurers can prosper, even while pricing is lousy: S&P panelists
   A lack of catastrophe losses significant enough to meaningfully drive any upturn in reinsurance rates, coupled with high levels of reserve releases enables reinsurers to perform better than the pricing environment suggests, according to a panel of industry leaders and experts.

9. Warming Atlantic means higher hurricane forecast for 2016: Weather Company
   A warming of north Atlantic ocean sea surface temperatures in the past month suggests a heightened chance of an active U.S. hurricane season in 2016, causing The Weather Company to increase its forecast numbers by one.

10. World Bank Pacific Resilience Program to include parametric insurance
    The World Bank has launched the Pacific Resilience Program (PREP), a group of projects aiming to strengthen Pacific Island countries’ resilience to natural disasters and climate change, including through the use of parametric insurance coverage.

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 21 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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Artemis’ Q1 2016 Catastrophe Bond & ILS Market Report – Another record first-quarter

We’ve now published our Q1 2016 catastrophe bond & ILS market report.

This report reviews the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market at the end of the first-quarter of 2016, looking at the record $2.215 billion of new risk capital issued and the composition of the cat bond & ILS transactions completed during Q1 2016. The report also includes a review of global property catastrophe reinsurance pricing trends and commentary on dedicated reinsurance sector capital from co-editor GC Securities.

Download your copy here.