Catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities news

Speaking with Artemis, Hannover Re senior executives Silke Sehm and Henning Ludolphs explained that tapping into the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market for cyber retrocessional reinsurance capacity is a priority and with a quota share already arranged, the next step is sponsoring the reinsurer’s first cyber catastrophe bond, details of the form were not revealed.

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has spent considerable time seeking to better understand the cyber opportunity and this proof work can help to create a sustainable ecosystem around investing in cyber insurance risks, speakers said yesterday at the SIFMA ILS event in Miami.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds as a group have delivered a strong start to 2023, with an average ILS fund return of 1.18% for January, the second strongest performance for the month in the record of the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index.

At the 2023 SIFMA ILS conference in Miami yesterday, speakers explained that the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has undergone a giant reset and that the now-higher rate environment is anticipated to persist, leading others to cite their optimism for the asset class going forwards.

Having successfully placed a new $100 million Sanders Re III Ltd. (Series 2022-3) catastrophe bond in December 2022, US primary insurance carrier Allstate has lifted the top of its Nationwide Excess Catastrophe Reinsurance Program tower to $7 billion.

Security First Insurance Company, a specialist Florida domestic homeowners insurer, is back in the catastrophe bond market with a First Coast Re IV Ltd. (Series 2023-1) issuance, that targets $100 million or more in named storm and severe thunderstorm reinsurance protection for the company.

Rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said this morning that while there are multiple factors driving up reinsurance pricing, one of them is the increased focus on returns in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) investor and ILS manager community.

Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, the hedge fund solutions unit of Blackstone, upsized its investment into an insurance-linked securities (ILS) strategy managed by asset management giant PIMCO before the end of last year.

The Andover Companies, one of the largest and longest-standing mutual insurance groups in the Northeast US, has entered the catastrophe bond market for the first time, seeking $125 million or more in collateralized catastrophe reinsurance from a Locke Tavern Re Ltd. (Series 2023-1) issuance.

Elementum Advisors, LLC, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment fund manager and collateralised reinsurance underwriter, is to benefit from a further $100 million investment into its range of ILS funds from stakeholder and key investor White Mountains.