All of our news and analysis on the retrocessional reinsurance marketplace.
Retrocession is effectively reinsurance for reinsurers, so a tertiary layer of risk transfer away from the original risk, if you consider primary, reinsurance and then retrocession.
As reinsurance is insurance for insurers, retrocessional, or retro, protection is reinsurance for reinsurers.
The retrocession reinsurance market has increasingly come to depend on the capital markets and insurance-linked securities (ILS).
As of mid-year 2022, global retrocession capacity has been estimated to be as high as $60bn, around $20bn of which is indemnity based and the rest in other formats.
The alternative capital markets and ILS funds, or investors, play a significant role in global retrocession, as too do instruments such as catastrophe bonds and industry-loss warranties (ILW).
One of the biggest challenges to providing fully environmental, social and governance (ESG) aligned investment strategies in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is the inability to know what really lies beneath every transaction, in terms of what has been underwritten by cedents along the market chain.
Read the full article
The market for industry-loss warranty (ILW) protection continued to soften into the July renewal, broker Willis Re has explained, which appears to be a continuation of the trend seen pre-June, as these structures followed the catastrophe bond market’s pricing.
Read the full article
The catastrophe bond market has a good opportunity to continue expanding and the current elevated activity could run right into 2022, according to reinsurance broker Willis Re.
Read the full article
Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re is aiming to upsize its new Vita Capital VI Limited (Series 2021-1) mortality catastrophe bond transaction, with the targeted issuance now lifted to between $100 million and $125 million of extreme mortality protection, we’re told.
Read the full article
Global reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter has announced the hiring of James Johns from Willis Re and Joshua O’Donoghue from Aon, who both join the brokers London non-marine specialty team, bringing additional property catastrophe and retrocession expertise.
Read the full article
The mismatch between capital supply and demand is now much lower than it was a year ago, with factors including capital raises and the freeing up of trapped ILS capital driving a resurgence, according to David Flandro of HX Analytics.
Read the full article
We’ve learned that the first company destined to be an insurance-linked securities (ILS) special purpose vehicle has already been registered in Hong Kong, with Greater Bay Re Limited established to issue a catastrophe bond on behalf of China Re, sources told us.
Read the full article
The CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities Fund Ltd., the listed, retrocession focused insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategy managed by Markel CATCo Investment Management, has gained roughly 8% in the last month thanks to a further reduction in claims from 2017 and 2018 wildfire loss events.
Read the full article
While capital has become more abundant, fungible and cheaper as a result over the last decade, it remains important as the “entry ticket” to the world of insurance and reinsurance, but it is no longer the main value proposition, Swiss Re CEO Christian Mumenthaler said today.
Read the full article
Everest Re is aiming to expand its access to third-party and alternative sources of reinsurance capital, with growth of its Mt. Logan Re sidecar-like structure seen as a key strategic opportunity, according to its CEO.
Read the full article
