Covid-19 news

RenaissanceRe, the Bermuda-based reinsurance firm and third-party capital management specialist, saw its external capital under management rise to $6.8 billion by April, helped by the launch of its Fontana Holdings casualty / specialty lines joint venture and some other additional fund raising.

France headquartered global reinsurance company SCOR is back in the capital markets with a new Atlas Capital Reinsurance 2022 DAC (Series 2022-1) catastrophe bond through which it is seeking at least $150 million of international multi-peril retrocessional protection.

Global reinsurance firm Hannover Re has been placing tranches of mortality swaps into the capital markets for almost a decade and in recent quarters this strategy has paid off for the company, as its COVID pandemic losses drove its mortality rate higher and triggered recoveries under the swap arrangements.

Global reinsurance firm Swiss Re has reported a net loss of $248 million for the first-quarter of 2022, as $524 million of natural catastrophe claims, $515 million of claims from the COVID-19 pandemic and reserving for potential losses from the war between Russia and Ukraine dented its performance for the start of the year.

Managers of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds and other strategies are pushing back on what is seen as still excessive trapping of capital linked to COVID-19 related claims, as confidence rises that the eventual impacts of this will be relatively limited for the ILS market.

Elementum Advisors, LLC, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund management and collateralised reinsurance underwriter, has announced the hiring of Alaina Cubbon as a Vice President, Portfolio Management, in the firm’s Bermuda based Investment Team.

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re was expansive in natural catastrophe risks at the January 2022 renewal season, reporting 24% growth in premiums, while property and casualty pricing rose 4% across the firms renewal book.

Capacity to support parametric pandemic risk transfer and insurance is expected to remain limited in the United States, according to broker Willis Towers Watson, but pricing has been on the rise.

According to Artemis’ sources, the issuance of a $100 million mortality catastrophe bond, sponsored by Securian Financial Group life insurance subsidiary, Minnesota Life Insurance Company, has now been cancelled after investor feedback related to concerns over COVID-19 pandemic related exposure.

Rising reinsurance pricing has boosted the earnings of the big four European reinsurers, despite them all being burdened in 2021 so far by natural catastrophe and COVID-19 related mortality losses.