Insurance Linked Investments

Memphis, Tennessee based alternative investment focused independent manager and advisor Gerber Taylor has launched a dedicated insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund-of-fund strategy to help its clients access the ILS asset class more efficiently.

AlphaCat Managers, Ltd., the third-party reinsurance capital management unit of Validus Holdings Ltd., has seen its insurance linked assets under management increase to $2.7 billion at January 1st 2017, up 8% in a year.

Tom Johansmeyer, Assistant Vice President, PCS Strategy & Development at ISO, launched the Verisk Insurance Solutions reinsurance initiative, and works closely with global reinsurance and capital markets stakeholders worldwide to identify critical needs and collaborate on solutions to address them.

The volume of insurance-linked listings of catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS), reinsurance sidecar notes and insurance linked investment funds on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) reached a new high at the end of 2016, exceeding $20 billion for the first time.

In the 12th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, a new report on the top perceived risks that the world is facing, extreme weather, natural disasters, environmental and climate risks are all cited as key concerns, highlighting the need for risk transfer solutions.

In this interview with Artemis Bill Dubinsky, Managing Director & Head of Insurance-linked securities (ILS) at Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), described the benefits and challenges of illiquid and liquid ILS investments, citing trends witnessed in 2016 and what this might mean for the market in 2017.

In a recent interview with Artemis, Niklaus Hilti, Head of Credit Suisse’s insurance-linked securities (ILS) division suggests a continuation of the shift towards collateralised reinsurance placements, and expects cat bond issuance to remain at current levels in the year ahead.

Reported insurance or reinsurance claims from damage suffered in the state of Florida due to hurricane Matthew have risen by another 10%, now reaching $803 million, according to a new update from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Health insurance giant Aetna has returned to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market for its eighth Vitality Re transaction, launching a Vitality Re VIII Ltd. (Series 2017-1) deal that seeks $200 million of reinsurance cover against a deterioration of its medical benefit ratio.

International ratings agency A.M. Best has highlighted the continued growth of the convergence space, stating that of the estimated $420 billion of dedicated reinsurance capacity at the end of 2016, $75 billion is from the convergence space.