swiss re

Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has found something to do with some of its excess capital, putting some of it to work in a new deal for its closed life insurance book arm Admin Re which has acquired Guardian Financial Services for GBP£1.6 billion ($2.5 billion).

Swiss Re, the second largest global reinsurance firm, has reported lower profits in the fourth-quarter of 2014 as the firm suffered a hit due to certain restructuring in its life and health business, the firm also cited a challenging January renewal season.

Reinsurance company Swiss Re has further rationalised its life focused Admin Re business unit with the announcement of the sale of its U.S. subsidiary Aurora National Life Assurance Company to Reinsurance Group of America (RGA).

Reinsurance firm Swiss Re has entered into an agreement with HSBC to purchase over 400,000 individual and group pension and related annuity policies as well as GBP £4.2 billion in unit-linked assets from HSBC Life (UK) Limited.

The total return of the outstanding catastrophe bond market in 2013 has beaten the long-term average for the second year running, with the 2013 total return reaching a very healthy 10.9%, as measured by the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Performance Total Return index.

Reinsurance firm Swiss Re is continuing to seek investment support for its Admin Re unit, with third-party capital providers an option it is open to, according to the reinsurers CEO Michel Liès.

The inexorable rise of the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Performance Price Return index, which tracks the price return for all outstanding USD denominated cat bonds and has been rising consistently since late July, has slowed as we move through October.

The outstanding catastrophe bond market returned over 1.5% in September, following on from an even healthier 1.7% return in August, demonstrating that despite declines in pricing, catastrophe bond returns remain a very attractive proposition for institutional investors.

After more than two and a half years the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Performance Price Return index, which tracks the price return for all outstanding USD denominated cat bonds, has made it back to its highest level since the index plummeted after the Tohoku, Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Spread tightening on catastrophe bonds exposed to U.S. wind risk has lifted the secondary cat bond market indices in recent weeks. Now deep in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane season, typical seasonality has returned to secondary cat bond prices and values have increased on hurricane exposed bonds.