reinsurance

With reinsurance rates having hardened considerably, pricing in the catastrophe bond and broader insurance-linked securities (ILS) market has followed suit.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) is to continue a focus on responsible solutions in insurance, reinsurance and investment funds in 2023, with products that address climate change and protection gaps a particular priority.

K2 Advisors, the hedge fund focused investment management unit of Franklin Templeton, has become even more constructive on the insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class, seeing near record high catastrophe bond spreads, as well as improved conditions in private ILS, retrocession and industry loss warranties (ILW’s).

In the global retrocessional reinsurance market, the availability of aggregate covers had been shrinking for some time, but at the January 2023 renewals aggregate retro capacity supply shrank further, while the terms of protection continued to become more restrictive, broker Gallagher Re has said.

Floodbase, which was formerly known as Cloud to Street, has raised a $12 million Series A funding round, while announcing an evolution in its parametric flood risk transfer technology, to allow parametric flood cover to be added to an existing parametric hurricane product.

France headquartered global reinsurance firm SCOR has announced a new Chief Executive Officer, hiring Thierry Léger for the position, who was most recently the Chief Underwriting Officer of Swiss Re.

The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) has become the listing home for another Hong Kong issued catastrophe bond, with the notes from Chinese domestic insurer PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited’s $32.5 million Great Wall Re Limited cat bond now listed on the exchange.

The maturity date has been extended for one of the classes of notes issued under the Herbie Re Ltd. catastrophe bond program, which is sponsored by Specialty insurance and reinsurance company Fidelis.

As the market navigated a very late and prolonged reinsurance renewal season, the usual flurry of start-ups and capital raises were nowhere to be seen.

With reinsurance pricing now much higher than before, S&P Global Ratings said that, while it continues to have a negative view on the sector, a tipping point is nearing where better profitability could change its view to stable.