Collateralized reinsurance news

A dispute levelled against specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset manager Securis over a clawback complaint made by Paraline’s ICAT Syndicate 4242 has been ruled in favour of the ILS fund manager, as clawback never existed in the contract.

With the traditional reinsurance industry and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market working hard to identify any routes through which unexpected claims from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic could leak, it’s perhaps worth looking at one obvious area of uncertainty, the growing in prevalence “other perils” category and similarly worded contract terms.

The Horseshoe managed private catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance and risk transformation vehicle Eclipse Re Ltd. has completed a second issuance of 2020, a $20 million Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2020-02A) transaction that came to market around the April reinsurance renewal.

The fact reinsurance prices have risen again at the January and April renewals, especially in peak catastrophe exposed zones, along with the recently demonstrated low-correlation to coronavirus financial market declines, suggests that the improved return potential of the ILS asset class will drive resurgent investor interest.

Global insurance and reinsurance group Everest Re ceded more premiums to its Mt. Logan Re Ltd. collateralized reinsurance sidecar-like vehicle in 2019 than losses, the first year since 2016 when catastrophe impacts have been far outpaced by premium growth.

Bernina Re Ltd., the Bermuda based reinsurance underwriting and transformer vehicle backed by capital from funds managed by Credit Suisse Insurance Linked Strategies Ltd., has hired Thomas Gubo as a Senior Actuary.

The insurance market loss from flooding that struck the United Kingdom earlier this year is initially estimated to be £279 million (around US $350m), according to PERILS AG, but the overall winter weather hit from floods and wind is estimated as £650 million (around US $810m).

Plaintiff attorneys believe there are a number of legal precedents that could mean insurers end up taking more business interruption claims from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic than initially thought, which analysts say suggests a rising risk of the impact being greater than anticipated.

For the property reinsurance marketplace, the impacts of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic are expected to be largely driven by macro-economic factors, although some specific contracts could be at-risk of legislative efforts around inclusions, according to Aon.

Insurance and reinsurance market losses from a severe east coast low that struck Australia at the beginning of February are estimated to be A$794 million, according to PERILS AG.