Insurance Linked Investments

Plenum Investments, the Zurich based specialist catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager, has published a new market study and Index family, enabling UCITS cat bond funds to be compared for the first time, while improving the transparency of the cat bond marketplace.

Markel’s flagship insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager Nephila Capital continues to benefit from “significant premiums” delivered via MGA Velocity Risk, even after its sale was completed, Markel’s Co-CEO Richie Whitt said recently.

Bermuda domiciled re/insurance, run-off and legacy specialist Enstar Group is eliminating its exposure to catastrophe risks with a shuttering of its joint-venture reinsurer, Enhanzed Reinsurance Ltd. (Enhanzed Re).

AXIS Capital, the Bermuda headquartered specialty insurance and reinsurance underwriter, is aiming to grow out its non-catastrophe activities with third-party capital partners, which should replace an anticipated dip in fee income from catastrophe risks it was sharing, the firm’s CEO has said.

Fleming Insurance Holdings and Altamont Capital Partners expect cedents to embrace their flexible, proprietary Planned Loss Portfolio Transfer (LPT) solution as it looks to capitalise on the big opportunity that is the casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

Given the hardening of pricing across natural catastrophe reinsurance markets and renewals, the analysts at RBC Capital Markets have asked whether a de-commoditisation of nat cat risk is currently underway?

Multinational investment bank and financial services company Deutsche Bank has hired Philippe Kremer, an experienced insurance-linked securities (ILS) and structured reinsurance expert, who has previously worked at Citi and Swiss Re.

Beazley has announced this morning that its Smart Tracker special purpose arrangement (SPA) syndicate 5623 will now become a full market-facing syndicate at Lloyd’s.

Australian life insurance and retirement income underwriter and investor Challenger Life grew its insurance-linked strategies portfolio by roughly 27% over the last financial year.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors remain very selective about opportunities to allocate capital still, with loss creep issues still fresh in the memory, as well continued fears of volatile loss experienced and trapped capital, AM Best has said.