Reinsurance News

The convergence of reinsurance and capital markets is “alive and well”, as reinsurers increasingly lean on alternative capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) products, Mike van Slooten from Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions division explained in a pre-Monte Carlo briefing today.

Caribbean nations must stop defaulting to adding more debt as the answer after every disaster shock, instead layering the full range of risk transfer and financing tools to enhance liquidity following events and ensure timely, responsive capital flow, according to comments made by the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados.

Global broker Aon and risk modelling, data and analytics specialist Moody’s have said that they see the annual premiums from the casualty catastrophe reinsurance market as a potential $5 billion opportunity, with a named peril focus seen as the best way to foster development of the segment.

Parametric specialist Descartes Underwriting has announced the hiring of insurance market veteran Sébastien Bardy to the newly created position of Chief Financial Officer, who joins the organisation from German insurer Allianz.

Following the mid-year reinsurance renewals the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) now sees catastrophe bonds making up an even larger proportion of its more than $7.83 billion risk transfer tower, at over 33% of the limit provided.

The Lloyd’s market continues to see strong investor appetite for access to the insurance and reinsurance linked returns that the market can generate and its London Bridge 2 insurance-linked securities (ILS) structure has become a key conduit for funds to enter the market, CEO Patrick Tiernan said today.

Alternative capital within the reinsurance market has “not yet reached its full capacity,” according to Guy Carpenter’s CEO of EMEA and Global Capital Solutions, Laurent Rousseau, who said today that his firm anticipates further growth of the ILS and capital markets backed capacity.

According to Verisk, the global data analytics and technology provider the insurance industry should expect average annual losses (AAL) from global natural catastrophes of $152 billion, with the potential for the total to far exceed that amount in any given year.

Pula, a Swiss headquartered specialist in parametric agriculture insurance for micro and mesa use-cases across Africa and parts of Asia, has established a collateralized insurer class of company in Bermuda, named Pula Reinsurance Ltd., Artemis has learned.

Leading rating agencies adjusted their outlooks for the global reinsurance sector yesterday, becoming in general a little more negative for prospects in the space and warning of higher competition. But still, the range of outlooks spans from positive, through stable, to deteriorating, suggesting uneven outcomes and that returns will still be attractive where discipline holds.