Catastrophe bond news

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) remain an attractive and diversifying asset class, and with returns now expected to be higher following 2017 catastrophe events and the subsequent impact on reinsurance industry pricing, Mercer’s Robert Howie suggests investors should look to the space in 2018.

Demand in the expanding and increasingly influential insurance-linked securities (ILS) market remains strong, and as the space grows, capital markets-backed capacity will cover more of the re/insurance industry’s losses from major events, according to Greg Reisner, a Director at international ratings agency, A.M. Best.

The acquisition of XL Group was not the expensive option for insurance giant AXA, according to the firms CEO Thomas Buberl, who said that the company had a number of potential acquisition targets on the table which had more expensive valuations.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds and collateralized reinsurance funds saw divergent performance during the month of February, as a number saw their performance hit as they were required to make adjustments to prior month loss estimates during the period.

United Insurance Holdings (UPC Insurance), the Florida headquartered expansive primary insurance group, is returning to the capital markets in search of reinsurance protection with a currently $100 million sized Armor Re II Ltd. (Series 2018-1) catastrophe bond issuance.

The number of confirmed deaths from the Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has risen according to the latest information available from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which means that the risk posed to investors in the World Bank’s pandemic swaps and catastrophe bonds has crept up slightly.

Japanese insurance group MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings looks set to secure a new $320 million source of capital markets backed reinsurance protection at efficient pricing, as its latest catastrophe bond, the Akibare Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) deal, secures the maximum targeted size at the lowest targeted pricing level.

The latest catastrophe bond from U.S. primary insurer Safepoint Insurance Company has increased in size while marketing, as the sponsors multi-peril Manatee Re II Ltd. (Series 2018-1) cat bond has grown to $200 million while pricing for both of its tranches has now been fixed at the bottom of guidance.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) are central to keeping the UK’s insurance and reinsurance industry “at the cutting edge”, the Government says, and the work to bring the recently introduced ILS legislation in the UK is an example of how industry and Government can collaborate, to the benefit of the economy.

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 25th March 2018, 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 or get our email alerts for every article we publish.