capital markets

The reloading of capacity after the 2017 catastrophe losses showed that the scare factor has gone for investors, according to S&P analyst Taoufik Gharib, meaning that fears of a softer-for-longer rate environment are unlikely to deter capital providers and as a result rate momentum is likely to fade in 2019.

AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, the Bermudian insurance and reinsurance specialist, is seeking to modernise its reinsurance underwriting and portfolio management operations at AXIS Re, with the establishment of a new Product Center that will be led by ex-PartnerRe executive Marcus Pollack.

Despite the constant reports of overcapitalisation in reinsurance, S&P reports that the top 20 reinsurance firms in the world have lost their capital redundancy at the ‘AAA’ confidence level for the first time since the financial crisis back in 2008.

The insurance and reinsurance linked investments space has value for its investors, as a diversifying asset with low correlation to broader financial market indicators, but this value is lessened or wiped out completely if the risk adjusted returns of ILS are not appropriate.

Collateralized reinsurer Oxbridge Re Ltd. is looking to become more of an asset manager in the reinsurance space with its newly licensed Cayman Island’s sidecar vehicle, Oxbridge Re NS Ltd., according to its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jay Madhu.

Australian primary player Insurance Australia Group (IAG) has spent significantly more on its reinsurance protection in the last six months and added stop-loss protection to cover it when catastrophe losses go above its natural perils budget and servicing a larger overall program.

Randall & Quilter, a Bermuda headquartered specialist non-life insurance and reinsurance investor, legacy or run-off transaction service provider and underwriting program manager (amongst other things) has hired Darren Bailey, an executive with ILS and capital markets experience.

The use of insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and collateralized reinsurance has transformed the reinsurance market and conquered the property catastrophe space, according to S&P, providing companies with a lever to acquire premium growth while still managing and controlling their peak exposures.

Unsurprisingly, managing agencies in the Lloyd’s of London insurance and reinsurance market would like to see insurance-linked securities (ILS) as a permanent fixture and efficient capital options more readily accessible.

An open, technology-driven, programmatic reinsurance risk placement marketplace has been announced as ready for business by Tremor Technologies, Inc., which the company hopes will make the placement and matching of risk with the right capital more efficient.