Catastrophe bond news

Having reached the largest size in its history at the end of 2014 at $25 billion, the catastrophe bond and ILS market has now shrunk by almost $2.7 billion, as vintage deals mature at the start of 2015, leaving the outstanding market at $22.337 billion today.

Reinsurance market conditions are similar to that of 1997 as pricing continues to soften, and despite what some experts believe, analysts at Macquarie Research warn that a major catastrophe might not be enough to effectively turn the reinsurance market.

In a repeat of 2014, health insurer Aetna is the first sponsor to launch a new insurance-linked securities deal in 2015, with Vitality Re VI Ltd. (Series 2015-1) seeking at least $200m of protection linked to the insurers medical benefit claims ratio.

The fourth in our series of articles featuring leading figures in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance on the market as we move into 2015 features Rick Miller and Michael Popkin, Co-Head’s of Insurance Linked Securities at Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets.

Reinsurance broker Willis Re reports that average catastrophe bond spreads declined around -15% to -20% year-on-year in 2014, as cat bond rates dropped to match, or in some cases better, the rates available from traditional property catastrophe reinsurance.

The third in our series of articles featuring the thoughts of leading figures in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance on the market as we move into 2015 features Rob Procter, CEO of Securis Investment Partners.

2014 was a year full of firsts for the catastrophe bond market, helping cat bond issuance to reach a new record highs. But as well as breaking new ground the cat bond market shows signs of continuing maturation, according to the latest market report from Property Claim Services (PCS).

This is the second in our series of articles, featuring the thoughts of leading figures in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance on the market as we move into 2015, features Stefan Kräuchi, Founder of ILS Advisers.

The recent CHF 70m ($71m) Leine Re private catastrophe bond transaction, which was issued through Hannover Re’s Kaith Re Ltd. segregated accounts company, was ultimately ceded by and benefits Swiss canton insurer Gebäudeversicherung Bern (GVB).

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) has passed another impressive milestone, reaching a massive $15.912 billion of insurance or reinsurance-linked listings of catastrophe bonds, ILS, sidecars and reinsurance investment funds on the exchange.