Reinsurance sidecars news

The Gulf Coast of Florida is facing another hurricane landfall, as tropical storm Milton formed this weekend and has already become a hurricane, with additional rapid intensification forecast and a major hurricane Milton landfall possible that many say has the potential to cause meaningful insurance and reinsurance market losses.

Investment manager Amundi US has continued to attract capital to its most recently launched dedicated insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund strategy, as the Pioneer CAT Bond Fund has now reached $426 million in assets, now roughly tripling in size over the course of 2024 so far.

Starwind Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, a program management subsidiary of broking group TIH, has secured $270 million of collateralized reinsurance capacity for certain casualty risk focused programs, through the launch of Fractal Re Ltd., a multi-year collateralized quota share sidecar structure.

The catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has a “meaningful growth opportunity” ahead of it, with a near doubling of the ILS market to as much as $200 billion in capital possible by the year 2032, according to analysts at investment bank Jefferies.

Concert Group Holdings, Inc., a privately owned insurance holding company and fronting specialist, has launched and capitalised a new reinsurance sidecar named Harmony Re, Inc., which while termed a risk retention platform is also set to be positioned to attract third-party capital in future as well, Artemis has learned.

Ledger Investing, the insurtech and casualty insurance-linked securities (ILS) company, has funded and launched a new $100 million casualty sidecar for a global reinsurer, financing the company’s casualty reinsurance business over three underwriting years on a quota share basis.

The life reinsurance industry in Bermuda has embraced the use of third-party capital structures and investor relationships, with sidecars now an established and growing feature of the market, Damian Cooper of PwC Bermuda explained in a recent video interview.

Artemis has learned that global reinsurance company Hannover Re is assessing its risk management need in relation to the K-Cessions quota share sidecar for the second year running and we’re told other major reinsurers may also pursue this approach, as companies manage their portfolios and are motivated to retain profitable risks.

The strategy of the Alternative Capital Partners (ACP) division of global reinsurance giant Swiss Re remains unchanged, according to its new Head Chris Minter, who told us the company continually reviews how it can expand its offering for investors.

Over the next year, reinsurance buyers have expressed a strong preference for catastrophe bonds when it comes to utilising alternative capital, while sidecars are also expected to see much more elevated demand, the latest survey by Moody’s Ratings shows.