Pricing and activity in the industry loss warranty (ILW) market has seen some improvement in recent weeks, with more buyers coming forward to take advantage of additional protection at good pricing, helping some insurance linked investors to benefit.

Aon Hewitt, the retirement product unit of insurance and reinsurance broker Aon, highlights the growing pension risk settlement and longevity risk transfer market in its latest report, saying that overall the market is already at a record level in 2014.

Developing a system for catastrophe insurance, reinsurance and a catastrophe fund, across a country as large, diverse and affected by so many natural catastrophe perils as China, is a “very difficult project” according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Rating agency A.M. Best has finally turned negative in its outlook for the global reinsurance sector, citing weakening operating fundamentals and significant ongoing market challenges which will hinder the potential for positive rating outlooks and upgrades.

Asian general and property casualty insurance companies are typically reliant on traditional reinsurance capital for funding in the event of a major natural disaster striking, but increasingly they are looking to alternative capital and catastrophe bonds, says Fitch Ratings.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P), the most active credit rating agency in rating catastrophe bond issues, has affirmed the ratings of five more natural catastrophe bonds, from three issuers, after each underwent its annual reset.

The combination of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment manager Leadenhall Capital Partners offering with Amlin plc’s traditional reinsurance proposition has lifted the firm into the top-tier of reinsurers.

Bermuda domiciled insurance, reinsurance and ILS capital firm Validus Holdings, continues to see strong demand from investors to access its range of third-party capital products under the AlphaCat brand, according to Validus CFO Jeff Sangster.