retro

HP Reinsurance SPC Ltd. (HP Re), a Cayman Islands based reinsurer, and Hale Partnership Capital Advisors has announced the hiring of Matt Walters as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of HP Re, as the firm continues to expand in both the reinsurance and retrocession markets.

Sven Althoff, Member of the Executive Board for Property & Casualty (P&C) of large European reinsurer Hannover Re said this morning that catastrophe bonds have been the main area of expansion for the company within the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space, noting that it is a “nicely growing part” of the firm’s business.

UK government backed mutual terrorism reinsurance firm Pool Re has secured another increase in size to its retrocession program, lifting it by 15% from £2.4 billion to £2.75 billion at the latest renewal, while our sources suggest that a new vintage of the Baltic terrorism catastrophe bond is expected to add to this.

Similar to the catastrophe excess of loss marketplace, the retrocession market softened to a degree at the January 1st, 2025, reinsurance renewals, and was generally more responsive to Bermuda-based reinsurer Conduit Re’s needs, according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Trevor Carvey.

Global reinsurer Hannover Re increased its natural catastrophe retrocession protections at the January 1st, 2025, reinsurance renewals by EUR 100 million to a little more than EUR 1.2 billion, with growth in the aggregate excess of loss and whole account excess of loss covers more than offsetting a reduced K-Cessions sidecar for the year.

According to Jean-Paul Conoscente, SCOR Global P&C CEO, if insurance and reinsurance market losses from the Los Angeles wildfires reach or surpass $40 billion, the retro market could potentially face significant disruption throughout 2025.

As the running-off of the exchange listed CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, the stock exchange listed retrocessional reinsurance strategy operated by Markel CATCo, completed this year, the company has now revealed that the net asset value of the shares rose 52% just this year as additional positive loss development was experienced.

Investors in the CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, the stock exchange listed retrocessional reinsurance strategy operated by Markel CATCo, are getting closer still to unlocking the remaining trapped investment collateral, as a partial share redemption completes and the fund nears its run-off.

As the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment portfolio story begins to draw towards its natural run-off conclusion, the Board of the London listed fund entity is seeking shareholder approval for a winding up of that specific strategy.

Reflecting the last few year’s recovery of value story in the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment portfolio, the London listed fund entity is now set to buy-back the majority of its shares at a much higher net asset value than had previously been achieved in earlier share redemptions.