Alternative reinsurance capital

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 17th May 2015, covering catastrophe bonds, ILS, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics. To ensure you never miss a thing subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates.

With the mid-year reinsurance renewals fast approaching market participants are reporting that demand from traditional reinsurers for higher priced business, and from ILS investors for higher yielding layers of risk, are combining to squeeze returns on riskier program layers.

Global insurance and reinsurance firms feel the industry is adequately or over-capitalised, exacerbated by a continued lack of large catastrophe losses as well as competition from new entrants, according to Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).

State National Companies said that fee income earned from its fronting relationship with Nephila Capital totaled $1.9m in the first-quarter of 2015, a number expected to grow throughout the rest of the year as the program ramps up.

The growth of alternative, or third-party investor-sourced, reinsurance and insurance capital, is sparking consolidation and M&A in the market, and this trend is expected to continue as the influx of new capital continues, according to reinsurer Swiss Re.

“To stand still” in an insurance and reinsurance market that us undergoing fundamental structural change, “is to fall behind”, say analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, echoing a message Artemis has delivered many times in the last few years.

Alternative reinsurance capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) is to feature as one of five key principles to be followed by the reinsurance division at newly joined XL Catlin, according to CEO of reinsurance Greg Hendrick.

The trends seen in the global reinsurance market over the last few years continue, with softening rates and high levels of competition still seen, but the pace of deterioration seems to be slowing, at least for the moment, explained W.R. Berkley’s COO.

Insurance and reinsurance companies in Bermuda expect that June 1st renewal rates will be down around 10% year-on-year, but many also suggest that stabilisation in pricing is becoming evident, according to analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 10th May 2015, covering catastrophe bonds, ILS, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics. To ensure you never miss a thing  subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates.