Catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities news

Allocating capital to investments in insurance-linked securities (ILS) can offer investors a significant yield advantage as well as relative value, while ILS market risk premiums still offer one of the most attractive entry points ever, according to Leadenhall Capital Partners.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reported that policyholders of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) have filed more than 54,000 claims so far after recent hurricane Helene.

The Acorn Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) parametric earthquake catastrophe bond issuance has now been priced and its details finalised, with the issuance successfully upsized to provide $450 million of protection, while pricing was fixed below the initial guidance that was offered, Artemis can report.

Insurance and reinsurance broker Aon reported today that year-to-date it has seen a 13% increase in catastrophe bond issuance volumes for the deals it has placed, while President Eric Andersen said the company remains agnostic as to form of coverage placed for clients, saying each has its place in the reinsurance capital stack.

For global reinsurance firm Hannover Re, the business of collateralized fronting, where the company fronts reinsurance cedents for ILS investors and funds, is seen as a very important element of its business and an area of growth, executive Thorsten Steinmann said this week.

Twelve Capital has analysed what it can mean for a traditional 60/40 stocks and bonds investment portfolio when catastrophe bonds are added to the mix, finding even a modest cat bond allocation can improve returns and risk metrics.

Mark-to-market pricing implied losses for the catastrophe bond market from hurricanes Helene and Milton are estimated at ~$380 million, at which level actual losses to the cat bond market in 2024 are running below the expected level, suggesting pricing will remain in neutral territory or could even soften slightly for the January renewals, according to […]

With the catastrophe bond market pipeline having sprung back to life as the US wind season passes its meteorological peak, cat bond fund manager Icosa Investments AG has analysed the issuance trend and sees it still running at a record pace.

We’ve learned that the targeted issuance size has increased to as much as $450 million for the Acorn Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) parametric earthquake catastrophe bond issuance, while at the same time the price guidance has been lowered to below the initially offered range.

Catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format grew strongly in recent months, adding approximately 7% in assets during the third-quarter of 2024 to take their combined assets under management to a new record high of almost $13.05 billion.