Reinsurance sidecars news

A wave of alternative capital, led by a record-setting surge in catastrophe bond issuance, helped reinsurers meet growing demand without pushing prices higher at the July 1 renewals, according to Gallagher Re, as cedants secured improved terms in property and specialty lines.

Broker Aon has said that interest in leveraging the reinsurance sidecar structure to support casualty exposures is continuing to build, with a number of new casualty reinsurance sidecars expected to launch later in 2025 and into 2026.

Global reinsurance capital outpaced demand at the 2025 mid-year renewals, fostering a more competitive environment for buyers, according to Aon. The firm also estimated that insurance-linked securities (ILS) capital remained stable at $115 billion as of the end of the first quarter, underscoring the ongoing strength and resilience of alternative capital sources.

We’ve reported before that the giant insurance-linked securities (ILS) portfolio managed by PGGM, the Dutch pension fund investment manager, on behalf of its end-client Dutch pension PFZW, had delivered a 15.1% net of costs return for calendar year 2024, on a Euro hedged basis.

The target allocation range has been reduced for an investment into a Munich Re reinsurance sidecar that features in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) portfolio managed by PGGM, the Dutch pension fund investment manager, on behalf of its end-client Dutch pension PFZW.

Having increased the capital base of its Lifson Re collateralized reinsurance sidecar structure and raised the proportional quota share for 2025, W. R. Berkley ceded a significant 82% more in reinsurance and retrocession premiums to the structure in the first-quarter of 2025.

Expanding use of third-party capital, reinsurance sidecars and partnerships with insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors is opening up additional sources of capital for managing general agents (MGA’s), which broker Gallagher Re says helped replace capacity from major reinsurers that have reduced their participation in the MGA marketplace.

Since launching its Risk Exchange platform in 2023, Accelerant Holdings has positioned itself as a conduit between institutional capital and specialty insurance risk, offering what CEO Jeff Radke describes as one of the few opportunities for investors to gain “a fair slice of the whole book of business.”

In an interview with Artemis, Laurent Montador, Deputy CEO of French reinsurer Arundo Re, discussed the recent renewal and launch of the seventh sidecar in the 157 Re series of deals, stating that it enhances the company’s capability to allocate more capacity in targeted areas while strengthening alignment with investors.

Aspen Capital Markets, the third-party, ILS and alternative reinsurance capital management unit of global re/insurer Aspen, generated half of the fee income earned in calendar year 2024 from managing casualty insurance and reinsurance opportunities for its investors.