investors

Amid ongoing market volatility institutional investors are increasingly turning to catastrophe bonds as a way to strengthen portfolio resilience, with the diversification they offer a valuable tool during times of turbulence, according to cat bond fund manager Icosa Investments AG.

According to Swiss Re Capital Markets, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market continued the growth trend of recent years throughout 2024, as the last twelve months were marked by a “robust performance” for cat bond investors in the absence of events large enough to have a significant impact on the market.

Everest Re, the Bermuda-headquartered global insurance and reinsurance firm, has said that it achieved what it sees as an “excellent outcome” from the January renewal season, with property a particular highlight.

Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance company, Everest Re, continues to benefit from a robust pipeline of insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment opportunities and is seeing a “high degree of interest” in its collateralized reinsurance sidecar-like vehicle, Mt. Logan Re Ltd., according to Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mark Kociancic.

All of the pieces are in place for growth in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class across the Asia region, it’s just a matter of time, as well as pricing and terms of available investments, according to a panel of experienced pension fund investors who allocate to the ILS sector.

To the reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, earthquake risk is one of the biggest peril threats in the world and one that the market can’t be complacent about, according to Paul Wilson, Head of Non-Life Analytics at Securis Investment Partners.

After several years of rate and term improvements, notably in the property catastrophe arena, there are signs the market is levelling off. But generally, returns in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market remain attractive, according to industry experts.

If Singapore and Hong Kong are able to establish themselves as valuable domiciles for insurance-linked securities (ILS) business, it should spur local reinsurers to develop capabilities as the investor base swells in tandem.

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 impact and subsequent loss creep from typhoon Jebi in Japan in 2018 caught many insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors by surprise, but the eventual deviation from initial vendor model loss estimates doesn’t translate to a fundamental issue with the models themselves, say industry experts.