-
Brokers expect strong competition at remote risk layers at the 1 January renewal.
-
Cat bond funds continue to draw interest as private ILS more challenged.
-
The Bermuda regulator is consulting on a refresh of its rules that will be in force as of 1 January 2025.
-
Building better exposure datasets could draw a broader range of investors.
-
The James River-Long Tail Re deal is the latest example of deal-specific investor capital.
-
The peril can no longer be considered secondary, according to Gallagher Re.
-
Sidecar vehicles are being tailored to match investors’ objectives.
-
Several bonds suffered declines in value from February to July.
-
The ILS manager leaderboard demonstrates the ongoing popularity of cat bonds.
-
The event could unpack issues around accumulation risk and cloud services.
-
The deal economics take into account the investment return that Longtail Re can leverage.
-
This is lower compared to 8.2% recorded by the index in H1 2023.
-
The latest Kilimanjaro Re, 3264 Re and Gateway Re deals all priced.
-
Cat bond spreads stabilised as maturities brought capital to deploy into the market, after an earlier spike.
-
Cat bond deals placed last week amounted to $150mn of issuance.
-
ILS capital so far is viewed by sponsors as strategic rather than essential.
-
A degree of pricing volatility was evident in the market this week.
-
The firm is the sole provider to offer index services in the US.
-
The shift in market dynamics reflects $1.8bn of maturities last week.
-
Sub-1% management fee and performance fee-only structures have evolved in ILS.
-
Market sources are speculating on the reasons behind the spread widening on index-based deals.
-
The regulation now allows pension funds a more flexible benchmark for measuring alternatives.
-
Forecasters have warned that a number of meteorological factors could make this year the most active on record.
-
Torrey Pines, Atlas Capital and Marlon priced and sized up.
-
Florida Citizens' Everglades Re bond priced up by 6% across three tranches.
-
Traditional reinsurers such as Berkshire Hathaway and Arch pushed for more share, our annual study of Florida cessions shows.
-
Longleaf Pine Re priced, while spreads on Everglades Re deal moved higher.
-
Spreads could continue widening throughout the rest of the year.
-
Cession ratios declined at three of the four publicly listed Floridians.
-
Rates are still materially higher than pre-pandemic and lower layers are holding firmer.
-
The Mexican government’s IBRD quake bond priced 4% ahead of guidance.
-
The flat growth is a result of multiple forces influencing capital flows in both directions.
-
Increased ILW purchasing reflects cash-rich funds looking to protect return levels.
-
Managers have tightened buffer terms and added extension spreads to enhance illiquid strategies.
-
Retained earnings resulting from reduced loss activity also helped to boost ILS capital.
-
Reinsurers have a "strong desire" for growth, but not at the expense of underwriting.
-
The broker said 1 April Japanese renewals reinforced positive trends in the US at 1 January.
-
Drop-in capital has now largely left the cat bond market.
-
Some $415mn of capacity entered the market last year.
-
Exposure updates played a greater role than expected.
-
The outlook for M&A activity is brighter after 2023 returns.
-
The carrier is designing an investable portfolio of long-tail risk.
-
Sponsors still secured terms that were favourable relative to traditional cover.
-
Aside from the one-year view, 2023 remixes the track record.
-
The conflict between US and Bermuda legal systems offers no easy route for counterparties to fraud-impacted transactions.
-
Of the 18 top-tier ILS managers, 10 recorded growth, while eight were flat or down.
-
Typical ILW attachment points for US peak perils have fallen from $60bn to $40bn-$50bn as the market awaits the final Hurricane Ian number from PCS.
-
The sidecars segment has been attracting inflows after returns hit a high note in 2023.
-
Broker-dealers' year-ahead forecasts have undershot total final issuance in three of the last five years.
-
Reinsurers are making some adjustments to secure target signings but appetite to grow is finely balanced.
-
Projected 2024 ILS returns remain historically high, but signs of increased appetite for top-layer cat risk and top-end retro raise questions over how long this will last.
-
New and returning sponsors, diversifying European wind risks and early placement of US hurricane coverage all helped new issuance to smash market expectations.
-
Anticipations of a tug-of-war around a ‘flat to slightly up’ pricing renewal have indeed come to fruition.
-
The year brought a degree of closure on the loss-hit years of 2017-2021, while the outlook remains changeable for ILS managers.
-
ILS managers are still waiting for hard market growth.
-
Analysis by Lane Financial concluded that ILS returns will likely be double-digit-to-high-teens in 2024.
-
With more ILS managers chasing the popular bond space, how will new operators differentiate themselves?
-
A strong outlook for sidecar profits in 2023 is rebuilding investor confidence but one to three years of good performance will be needed to sustain it more fully.
-
Experts at the Trading Risk New York conference emphasised in-built cyber risk protections from defences to exclusions, as ILS managers grapple with understanding the peril.
-
Cat bond investors are sufficiently capitalised to fulfil demand from an anticipated strong pipeline of new issuance in Q4.
-
ILS capacity in the form of retained earnings and new inflows is shaping up to meet growing demand for reinsurance and retro coverage.
-
The broker studied the impact of 14 major cyber events in its attempt to dispel ILS manager fears of a ‘double whammy’ cyber event that would also impact financial markets.
-
The supply-demand dynamics are all pointing in ILS markets’ favour, so long as hurricane season goes quietly.
-
The ratings agency has said ILS firms could encounter “pent-up demand” from cedants during the January 2024 renewal.
-
Hurricane Idalia is still live, but the storm’s track reassured market participants that it will be a relatively minor loss.
-
If the assets of the cell form part of the Vesttoo estate, this may impact the priority of returning associated capital to cedants.
-
Total reinsurance capital will climb to $560bn, ahead of last year but behind the 2021 peak of $570bn.
-
The industry’s ability to draw new capital will hinge on the outcome of the Atlantic hurricane season.
-
Loss estimates from Aon, Gallagher Re, Swiss Re and Munich Re all point to a significant component of severe convective storm losses.
-
Most forecasters now predict above-average storm activity for the Atlantic as a result of record-high sea-surface temperatures.
-
At least six aggregate bonds offering convective storm cover have been marked down by around an average of more than 20% on the secondary market.
-
Risers and fallers emerge within peer group of larger ILS firms, with Twelve Capital and Pillar the fastest growing in H1.
-
Insurance Insider has gathered data on geographical areas prone to cat events, which are outside of southeastern US states, that keep weather experts awake at night.
-
The company’s targeted Vescor cat bond would have provided collateral to meet auto and other obligations, but there were multiple structural points of risk for investors.
-
Fronting companies typically hold premiums in reserve meaning that credit exposure to letters of credit on Vesttoo transactions should only be required in the event of deteriorating losses.
-
Some sources have called for more transparency on secondary trades, though others note the buy-and-hold nature of the market limits trading appetite.
-
The cat bond market has benefited from hardening rates and more remote structures.
-
ILW limit of around $1bn could change hands depending on where the Hurricane Ian industry loss number settles.
-
At this week's Bermuda Climate Summit, speakers heralded the Island's future as a centre of excellence for climate-related innovation and risk transfer.
-
Cat bond issuance in H1 at around $8.6bn was almost a match for full-year 2022 volumes at $8.9bn, as the market staged a recovery at a pace that surprised many participants after a challenging second half last year.
-
Compelling rates are on offer for markets willing to write wildfire risk in the sunshine state.
-
A Guy Carpenter report recently noted that risk models are converging for the most remote risk levels.
-
The life segment has shifted from its genesis in mortality and morbidity risk transfer as lapsed risk deals have proliferated.
-
Most forecasters predict below-average activity in the region – but opposing weather phenomena mean uncertainty is higher than usual.
-
Even clean accounts in the admitted space are seeing rate increases of 15% year on year, while loss-hit accounts in Florida were slapped with a 100% rate increase for June 1.
-
Early private deals have provided far more stability in this year’s renewal than last.
-
Shifts in reinsurance appetite across the risk spectrum has squeezed out ILS providers in some cases.
-
Softening cat bond rates are among the bearish signals for cat rates, but latent new demand and still-cautious supply should prolong reinsurer gains.
-
Five counterparties account for almost half of all premiums ceded by a sample of major Floridian carriers, analysis shows.
-
The pace of rate hikes will ease back from the 1 January reset as buyers seek to lock up capacity early after last year’s dislocated renewal.
-
UBS previously explored setting up an ILS offering, but instead opted to offer other firms’ products.
-
The asset class is finding favour particularly with allocators that have been watching returns play out over the long-term horizon.
-
A trend for slightly riskier bonds has brought with it a rise in the absolute margin on offer.
-
The cat bond market is thought likely to receive an outsized portion of any capital inflows.
-
Beazley executives spoke of further growth prospects in the class, after its results revealed a 79% combined ratio for its cyber division in 2022.
-
A canvass of Lloyd’s market executives generated an expected combined ratio of 92%-93% for 2022.
-
Reinsurer-owned ILS platforms were challenged to grow fee income in a tough year for nat cat losses and as cat market economics shifted.
-
The reinsurer said in its Q4 earnings call that Argo’s takeover further diversifies its operations and adds a foundational piece to its expanding P&C activity in the US.
-
The two top-performing funds in 2022 were interval funds.
-
Following rate increases at 1 January, projected fund returns for 2023 are up several points year on year, with a boost also from higher Treasury rates.
-
Early evidence is leading the (re)insurance market to hope the storm can avoid the development curve of its 2017 predecessor Hurricane Irma.
-
The headline market drop in AuM belies a more lively growth story for funds operating outside of the ILS major league.
-
Beazley’s bond was hailed as a “great first step” but challenges remain, although others are already working on narrower cloud outage transactions.
-
The sidecar has been taking on more cyber risks in recent years, sources said.
-
Their view that “investors have never had it so good” speaks of a market in an upbeat mood as of January.
-
Potential rotation of the investor base, along with continuing evolution in ESG and non-cat products, are set to be themes for the upcoming year.
-
Key themes of the renewal that resonated across the ILS investor base include the elevation of attachment points, though lack of take-up of named perils coverage may disappoint some.
-
Cedants are grappling with rising rates while coverage narrows.
Most Recent
-
Allstate pegs August cat losses at $215mn post-tax
19 September 2024 -
Opinion: Florida capital raising environment not in the clear yet
18 September 2024 -
GC Securities to join broker line-up for ResRe bonds
18 September 2024 -
Beazley upsizes latest PoleStar Re bond by 167% to $200mn
18 September 2024 -
Moody’s RMS estimates Hurricane Francine losses at under $2bn
18 September 2024