Reinsurance sidecars news

Hamilton Re, the Bermuda-based reinsurance unit of Hamilton Insurance Group, has set up its first collateralized reinsurance sidecar vehicle, capitalising the special purpose insurance vehicle Turing Re Ltd. with $65 million of capital.

A $45 million tranche of insurance-linked notes have been issued through Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe’s vehicle Fibonacci Reinsurance Ltd., a sidecar-like structure that can provide investors with catastrophe bond-like investments.

Data from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) reveals that the total assets of special purpose insurers (SPI’s) licensed in the region increased to roughly $34.34 billion as at December 31st 2015, while capital & surplus also increased when compared with the previous year, to approximately $4.5 billion.

Stone Ridge Asset Management, the beta and alternative risk premia focused mutual fund manager, has reached $5.5 billion of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance linked assets under management, with its Reinsurance Risk Premium Interval Fund leading the way with 23% growth in the last quarter.

U.S. mutual fund manager Pioneer Investments has seen a significant increase in assets under management of its Pioneer ILS Interval Fund insurance-linked securities and reinsurance linked investment strategy, with the fund’s AuM jumping 52% to $245 million by the end of January 2017.

Bermuda-headquartered ILS management, servicing, transformation and fronting specialist Horseshoe Group has joined the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) as a listing sponsor, through its Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd. unit.

Global reinsurance firm Munich Re has expanded its third-party capital ILS investor base in its collateralised sidecar and catastrophe bond issues, while also expanding the coverage of its Eden Re II sidecar to include four lines of business.

Global specialty insurance and reinsurance firm Brit Ltd. has increased the size of its reinsurance sidecar vehicle Versutus Ltd. to $150 million in order to accommodate coverage for its U.S. property binder insurance risks.

The trend of primary insurance carriers establishing their own collateralised reinsurance sidecar type vehicles, as a way to more efficiently access, and control their access to, alternative sources of reinsurance capital is still in its infancy, according to Standard & Poor’s.

TransRe Capital Partners, the unit of reinsurance firm TransRe formed in 2013 to deal with its third-party capital market activities, now has approximately $500 million in its collateralised reinsurance sidecar, according to Alleghany President Weston Hicks.