terrorism

Pool Re, the UK’s government backed mutual terrorism reinsurer, has not yet included any ILS fund capacity or collateralised reinsurance within its retrocession program, which grew to £1.95 billion this year, but told Artemis that it remains open to including capital markets coverage in future.

The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) has rejected including any retrocessional reinsurance capital from ILS or collateralised markets in its recent $2.9 billion program renewal, as they price the risk above the traditional market.

As the global threat of terror attacks remains heightened following a series of high-profile events in 2015, PCS has been working closely with sister company Verisk Maplecroft to establish a parametric-style trigger for terror ILWs, the firm said.

Encouragingly the U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced nine senior insurance and reinsurance leaders are to serve as members of the Advisory Committee on Risk-Sharing Mechanisms (ACRSM) and one is an ILS and catastrophe bond expert.

The involvement of the U.S. government in provision of terrorism insurance, through the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program under TRIA, limits traditional and alternative reinsurance capital’s ability to play a meaningful role, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Yesterday the Terrorism Risk Reauthorisation Act of 2015 (HR 26) passed the U.S. Senate, renewing the government backed terrorism insurance facility for six years. Part of the reauthorisation calls for advice to be sought from the ILS and alternative risk markets.

The United States Congress is not going to extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), the financial backstop for U.S. property insurers against terrorist attacks, this year but with reinsurance capacity high this may result in a shortage of terrorism reinsurance cover.

The world’s first kilometer high building is set to be finished in 2019, Jeddah’s $1.5 billion ‘Kingdom Tower’, demonstrating the imminent rise of supertall buildings and creating opportunities for the insurance-linked securities market.

The availability and price of terrorism risk insurance and reinsurance coverage has increased this year, as reinsurers look to provide additional terrorism re/insurance capacity as competition from alternative capital prompted them to be more supportive of the class.

So says the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG), in a recent report to Congress looking into the long-term availability and affordability of terrorism risk insurance which was published last Thursday.