Insurance Linked Investments

For the first time in the mutual insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds history, the Stone Ridge Reinsurance Risk Premium Interval Fund has seen applications for its latest quarterly share repurchase program become oversubscribed, Artemis has learned.

Cayman Islands domiciled reinsurance firm Oxbridge Re Ltd. has said that its fully collateralized reinsurance sidecar vehicle Oxbridge Re NS Ltd. is likely to take a portion of the firms losses from recent hurricane Michael, which could amount to a roughly 55% loss of principal.

The current California wildfire outbreak is expected to drive losses of between $3 billion to $6 billion to the insurance and reinsurance industry, while there will also be an element of BI and demand surge to deal with as well, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The ongoing outbreak of wildfires in California, which have reached record levels in terms of property destruction and deaths, are likely to mean that insurance and reinsurance industry losses from the wildfire peril will also reach a record level in 2018, according to A.M. Best.

The catastrophe loss activity witnessed so far in 2018 may be sufficient to ensure that reinsurance companies “return on capital in 2018 may not materially exceed reinsurers’ cost-of-capital,” according to rating agency S&P.

The valuations or prices of investments in the Stone Ridge Asset Management reinsurance mutual funds and the Markel CATCo listed retrocession fund were dented by the California wildfire threat in recent days.

Seeman Holtz Property & Casualty, LLC has acquired Boston-based online home and auto insurance technology platform Goji, a transaction that insurance-linked securities (ILS), reinsurance and transportation investment manager Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd. was involved in as an investor in both firms.

The ongoing outbreak of wildfire activity in California has continued to destroy property over the last 24 hours, with the number of destroyed structures now standing at 7,150 across the three wildfire outbreaks and uncertainty still remaining over whether utility PG&E will be found liable for the most severe of the blazes.

Arcus Syndicate 1856 at Lloyd’s of London, which is backed by funds under the management of the Credit Suisse insurance and reinsurance linked investment strategies team, has had its business plan for 2019 approved by Lloyd’s of London.

Catastrophe bonds that are exposed to the California wildfire peril are expected to face increased levels of volatility and also discounts in their pricing on the secondary market due to the ongoing wildfire events in the state, according to investor Plenum.