reinsurance

Although Lancashire Holdings did engage with insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors at the late and complex January 1st, 2023, reinsurance renewals, the specialty re/insurer decided against raising new funds at its third-party capital collateralised reinsurance underwriting arm, Lancashire Capital Management Limited (LCM).

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is undergoing a “dramatic repricing”, leading to a situation that Alex Conyers of Neuberger Berman explains as “an exceptional opportunity for investors looking for non-correlated returns.”

Catastrophe bonds in the UCITS format have continued to add assets under management (AuM) at the start of 2023, with a further almost $200 million gain in January, taking the combined assets of those cat bond funds tracked to almost $9 billion.

European headquartered re/insurer Zurich opted not to renew its global aggregate catastrophe treaty for 2023 at the recent renewals, but did add a $200 million U.S. earthquake swap, and a new $300 million top cat layer to its programme for the year ahead.

Lancashire Holdings, the specialty insurance and reinsurance group, continued its strong growth trajectory in 2022 with a 35% rise in gross written premiums (GWP), but while the firm’s underwriting performance improved, losses had an impact on its third-party capital management business.

Global reinsurance company Ariel Re is looking to slightly upsize its latest Titania Re Ltd. (Series 2023-1) catastrophe bond deal and, in a rare occurrence for recent months, the cat bonds price guidance has been reduced, so it now has the potential to price at or below the low-end of the initially marketed range.

Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer Everest Re Group’s collateralized reinsurance investment vehicle, Mt. Logan Re, raised funds at the January 1st renewals despite clear dislocation in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) marketplace, and the firm expects further growth over time, according to Jim Williamson, Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Head of Reinsurance.

Vesttoo, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused insurtech company, has made another senior hire focused on institutional capital markets, with former BlackRock executive Thomas Rose joining the company as Head of Capital Markets, North America.

Athene Holding Ltd., the life and retirement reinsurance company majority owned by investor and private equity specialist Apollo Global, now has access to more than $7 billion of deployable capital to purse “attractive growth opportunities” following the first close of the Apollo / Athene Dedicated Investment Program II with around $2 billion in capital commitments.

Insurance industry losses from the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria earlier this week are anticipated to fall around the US $1 billion mark, with reinsurance capital set to bear the majority, Fitch Ratings believes.