ILW news

Sources of retrocessional reinsurance capital appear in greater supply at this January renewal season than a year ago, which has applied some pressure to rates-on-line at higher, more remote layers, while also shifting more of the balance of power back towards buyers in some cases, we understand.

PCS, a unit of Verisk, has announced an expansion of its insurance industry loss index for terrorism risks, with SRCC (Strikes, Riots, Civil Commotions, and Civil Unrest) now being added to the PCS Global Terror Index.

Swiss-headquartered fintech Cerchia has continued to build momentum around its capital markets focused direct risk transfer platform, with a particularly notable cyber trade, that saw a cyber industry-loss warranty (ILW) transacted using a PCS Global Cyber industry-loss index trigger.

For global insurance and reinsurance player Everest Group, using its Mt. Logan Re Ltd. third-party capitalised sidecar-like structure is seen as preferable to sponsoring catastrophe bonds or hedging with ILW’s, according to CFO Mark Kociancic.

K2 Advisors, the hedge fund focused investment management unit of Franklin Templeton, has raised its conviction on investing into insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance investments to “strongly overweight” saying it anticipates firm pricing conditions and despite some spread tightening in catastrophe bonds the yields remain attractive.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) expects to buy more reinsurance and risk transfer in 2024, as the not-for-profit wind and hail insurer of last resort for the state forecasts a significant increase in exposure, alongside a continued hard reinsurance market.

The ability to customise industry-loss warranties (ILW’s) is seen as a key trait in the reinsurance-linked asset that assists in the portfolio construction process, but demand for ILW protection has fallen slightly among reinsurers, according to the CEO of the City National Rochdale Select Strategies Fund.

In finalising the insurance and reinsurance industry loss estimate for Japanese typhoon Nanmadol, which struck the country in September 2022, catastrophe loss data aggregator PERILS AG has lowered the total to JPY 125.9 billion, while also saying that its data is increasingly being used in Japanese ILW loss triggers.

In the wake of Tom Johansmeyer, the former Head of Verisk unit PCS, joining the Ardonagh Group reinsurance broking division Inver Re in Bermuda, the company has now launched an integrated global index practice and sees an advantage in leveraging his experience in ILW’s.

Swiss-headquartered fintech Cerchia said today that the first risk transfer arrangement has now been traded on its capital markets focused direct risk transfer platform, with a buyer and seller coming together to trade a $100bn PCS trigger Florida wind industry-loss arrangement.