Catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities news

There is increasing acknowledgement of the opportunity that Asian investors present to insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers and the market as a whole. To date, the contribution of Asian investors to the overall ILS and catastrophe bond investment market remains small, with around 5% of the total ILS market capital coming from investors in Asia. […]

Swiss Re’s latest catastrophe bond deal, which is the first to ever hit the market with a tranche covering both catastrophe and extreme mortality risks, has had one class of notes withdrawn during marketing according to our sources. The Mythen Re Ltd. (Series 2012-2) cat bond, through which Swiss Re are seeking a source of cover […]

Back in July we wrote about the downgrade of two outstanding catastrophe bonds due to a number of qualifying catastrophe events resulting in ultimate net losses for the sponsor USAA. Residential Reinsurance 2011 Ltd. (Series 2011-1) and the more recent Residential Reinsurance 2012 Ltd. (Series 2012-1), both suffered losses due to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes […]

One of the key events in the reinsurance cycle is currently underway in Germany. The Baden-Baden Reinsurance Symposium is another event which presents an opportunity for reinsurers, brokers and cedants to meet and discuss pricing, rates and availability of coverage for the forthcoming January renewals. One of the issues raised which is worthy of some […]

One of the issues we discuss regularly on Artemis is the fluctuation in secondary market outstanding catastrophe bond pricing over the course of the year and how seasonal weather patterns, such as the U.S. hurricane season, impact pricing. As with any secondary market, there are effects that change pricing across wide swathes of the marketplace, […]

International law firm Stephenson Harwood have appointed a new partner to their structured finance practice. Based in their Singapore office, Saugata Mukherjee will work across their structured finance disciplines as well as aviation financing. He has proven experience in much of the structured finance world, from aircraft financing structures to securitization, with one of his […]

There’s a new insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund emerging on the scene thanks to a seed investment from German reinsurer Hannover Re. Hannover Re has had an internal ILS fund, which they have been successfully running since 2008, targeting a diversified portfolio of low-risk catastrophe bonds for their own benefits. Now they are turning what was […]

It’s always interesting to hear from the sponsors of catastrophe bonds after the deal closes to better understand the motivations and benefits they feel the transaction brings to their risk management and transfer program. This is even more interesting when it’s a government who are the ultimate beneficiary of a cat bond deal, such as […]

Once again the average return made by insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds, as measured by the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index, hit record levels for the year in September. In fact, last month was the best single monthly return that the index had achieved in three years, since September 2009, according to insight from ILS Advisers, an investment […]

Suddenly the catastrophe bond market is alight with activity, as the third new transaction in as many days launches to an expectant investor community. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed that we added basic details on this new cat bond to our Deal Directory yesterday and we’ve sourced enough information from contacts to make […]