Coronavirus news

Sompo Global Risk Solutions (GRS), a division of Bermuda-headquartered specialty P&C insurance and reinsurance group Sompo International, has launched a new parametric insurance product to cover epidemic and pandemic risks.

The resurging incidence of cases of COVID-19 across areas of the United States could add pressure to catastrophe insurance and reinsurance market claim processes and amounts, so PCS has undertaken some research on hurricane events to show where the threat is greatest.

The return of catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds appear widely dispersed after the first-half of the year, as ILS Advisers reported a range of -5.1% to as high as +8%.

In June and July we understand that loss creep related factors have continued to affect some insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds, particularly those focused on private collateralised reinsurance deals, as uncertainty persists over potential impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and prior year catastrophe losses begin to crystalise.

Lancashire Capital Management Limited, the third-party capital collateralised reinsurance underwriting arm of specialty insurance and reinsurance group Lancashire Holdings, has raised capital around the mid-year at a similar level to the prior year.

Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has said that its second-quarter result will be helped by a lower incidence of natural catastrophe losses, which will help it deliver an above consensus estimate roughly EUR 1.1 billion of profit for the period.

The unexpected nature of Covid-19 related business interruption (BI) losses is troubling for the market, and it could be another two years before the insurance-linked securities (ILS) industry fully understands the impact, according to leading ILS investors.

The return of catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds as a group was above average in May 2021, at 0.58%, and even if you subtract the extraordinary boost one fund got due to what is expected to have been wildfire subrogation recoveries, the average ILS fund return was still better than the long-term mean.

The Hong Kong Insurance Authority has today published guidelines related to its new insurance-linked securities (ILS) regulatory framework in the Government Gazette, with details on applications to establish special purpose insurers (SPI) in the domicile now finalised.

It increasingly looks like Hong Kong could break into the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market before too much longer, as with details of its ILS grant pilot now available, one local law firm said it is already receiving enquiries from potential sponsors.