Insurance linked securities news, ILS news

Florida has been facing an insurance claims abuse epidemic, more widely known as the assignment of benefits (AOB) issue which has driven up claims totals and means reinsurance and ILS players could face outsized impacts from smaller storms in the state.

Property and casualty insurance company United Insurance Holdings (UPC Insurance) estimates that it has eaten all the way through its retention for its aggregate catastrophe reinsurance coverage, which means future losses will eat into a reinsurance program that features considerable ILS and collateralized market participation.

Specialist insurance and reinsurance linked investment manager Leadenhall Capital Partners has invested in the launch of what is being called an “insurance challenger” start-up, a new initiative to launch an insurer that will leverage InsurTech and a fresh approach to protect more UK families.

The seventh and largest of the Oak Leaf Re catastrophe bond deals has just been announced as completed, a $53.995 million Oak Leaf Re Ltd. (Series 2017-1) which has been structured and placed by the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets (JLTCM) team, for sponsor Southern Oak Insurance Company.

When discussing the health of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector too often the state of the reinsurance market is the bellweather, but Rob Procter, CEO of ILS investment specialists Securis Investment Partners LLP, believes that the future has never looked brighter.

The abundance of capacity in the global reinsurance sector from both traditional and alternative sources suggests it might take a number of large events in succession to materially turn pricing, which J.P. Morgan says would be a test for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets (JLTCM), the investment banking and ILS structuring & issuance team of the reinsurance brokerage JLT Re, has successfully structured and placed another private catastrophe bond transaction, a $65.1 million Market Re Ltd. (Series 2017-1) transaction for a Florida sponsor.

Insurance, reinsurance and capital markets broker and advisory Willis Towers Watson’s private catastrophe bond issuance platform has successfully completed another deal, the brokers fourth so far this year, a $37 million Resilience Re Ltd. (Series 1761A) transaction.

Following a spike in global catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) activity so far in 2017, analysts at RBC Capital Markets expect it could be a record-breaking year  and believe this is likely to impact pricing for well modelled catastrophe exposures.

The first full catastrophe bond issuance from Tokio Millennium Re (Bermuda) has increased in size by 72% while marketing, with the now $430 million Spectrum Capital Ltd. (Series 2017-1) cat bond set to secure an enlarged layer of reinsurance protection for the firm, with pricing now fixed at attractive levels.