Insurance Linked Investments

The evolution of the convergence space continues to influence the global insurance and reinsurance industry and this is only the beginning of the market’s transformation, which, along with traditional forms of capacity can address the global protection gap, according to industry experts.

Lancashire Holdings third-party reinsurance capital management unit Kinesis Capital Management held back on distributing profit commission to its parent in the third-quarter while it awaits the confirmation of loss estimates from earlier this year.

For a number of years now the global reinsurance market has been softening steadily, with rates and pricing now at levels thought almost as low as they can go. But still the largest players in the market are able to return excess capital, as seen with Swiss Re this morning.

The value of insurance, reinsurance and financial services group Alleghany Corporation and its reinsurer TransRe’s investments in specialist ILS manager Pillar Capital’s ILS funds increased during the third-quarter, while at the same time positive income continued to flow from the ILS operations.

Aeolus Capital Management Ltd., one of the leading insurance-linked investment managers focused on collateralized property catastrophe reinsurance and retrocession, is getting a new investor as hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation is set to acquire a controlling stake.

Sequant Re, the start-up Bermudian collateralized reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) firm, has taken another US$300,000 investment from its lead backer Premier Diversified Holdings Inc. (PDH), taking its stake to almost 42%.

Total-return reinsurance vehicle Harrington Re, established earlier this year by re/insurer AXIS in partnership with Blackstone, has become an integral part of the firm’s broader alternative capital strategy, according to AXIS Capital Holdings President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Albert Benchimol.

The longer-tail nature of some earthquake loss events continues to be demonstrated by the Canterbury, New Zealand disasters, with the Insurance Council reporting that paid insurance losses have now hit $19 billion, up $1 billion since the end of June.

New York  stock exchange listed fully-collateralized reinsurance company Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Endurance, continued to demonstrate the importance of having a globally diversified portfolios of risks reporting a profit despite higher losses.

The hurricane Matthew insurance or reinsurance claims loss has now reached $606 million, according to the latest from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. With over 57% of claims filed still open the total can be expected to rise further, with the remaining claims potentially able to add as much as $800m to the total.