reinsurance

Global insurance and reinsurance group AXA has taken significant action to reduce its exposure to natural catastrophe loss events, cutting the catastrophe reinsurance exposure held by its AXA XL division by some 40% through renewals so far this year.

Global reinsurance firm SCOR has reported a loss for the first-quarter of 2022, as claims from natural catastrophes and mortality related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reserving for losses from the conflict in Ukraine, all dented its performance.

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.

US primary insurance giant Allstate is seeking Florida focused reinsurance coverage from a catastrophe bond for the first time in two years, with a $250 million or greater Sanders Re III Ltd. (Series 2022-2) multi-peril issuance now in the market.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategies delivered a second month in a row of muted performance in March 2022, as some catastrophe exposure and continued price pressure in catastrophe bonds, dented returns for some strategies, but overall the sector remains positive for Q1, further underscoring the decorrelation potential for investors.

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re looks set to remain underweight on Florida reinsurance business, as unless the market accepts its view of risk, the company is unlikely to expand in the state and lacks optimism on the potential for pricing to rise adequately, its CFO John Dacey explained this morning.

US primary insurance giant Allstate has renewed its main excess catastrophe reinsurance towers for 2022 into 2023 and the company has raised the top of its per-occurrence reinsurance coverage to $6.6 billion, but on the aggregate side the tower has shrunk with coverage attaching lower-down now thanks to the use of event deductibles.

In reporting its results this morning, specialist underwriter Hiscox Group said that net inflows into its Hiscox ILS business had allowed the company to capitalise on the hard market in North American catastrophe reinsurance and retrocession in the first-quarter.

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.

A recently launched US mutual investment fund with a core focus on catastrophe bonds, is expanding its investment scope to include more types of insurance or reinsurance assets prior to its full launch, with the Ambassador Fund adding to its prospectus so it can take opportunities to begin gaining traction.