Hurricane

Hurricane Isaac is on track to be the first US landfalling hurricane of 2012, and is drawing parallels with the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005 as it heads towards New Orleans

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has raised its prediction for 2012 storms despite the expected transition to El Niño weather patterns, which tend to lower hurricane activity

RMS will now use long-term rates of hurricane activity as its base case for modelling hurricane cat bonds rather than higher-risk medium-term assumptions, the modelling agency announced today (26 July)

Swiss Re has almost tripled its latest Vita extreme mortality offering to $275mn from a $100mn target as investors sought out US hurricane diversifiers, Trading Risk understands.

The catastrophe reinsurance market may be on the cusp of a strategic shift towards increased use of third party capital after new sidecar and start-up launches raised $835mn in the second quarter, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) said in its latest ILS market report.

The chances of an El Niño weather pattern developing and restricting hurricane activity in the Northern Hemisphere summer have increased, says the US Climate Prediction Center

ILS spreads continued to slide in early July as primary cat bond issuance dried up with the onset of the US hurricane season, enabling Munich Re's latest Queen Street offering to price below forecast guidance

Two cat bond funds closed their doors to new subscriptions this month, but this is not necessarily a sign of a wider issue with excess capacity, market observers said

Munich Re has closed its new dual-peril Queen Street cat bond at $100mn with spreads coming in below pricing guidance, Trading Risk understands

Munich Re has launched a new dual-peril Queen Street Re cat bond in the first issuance to hit the ILS market since hurricane season opened, according to a ratings agency note.

RMS will not follow up its imminent "update" on its European windstorm cat risk model with a modification of its US model this year despite criticism from the market, the catastrophe risk modeller has said.

The reset of Travelers' 2009 cat bond Longpoint Re II under the new RMS Version 11 hurricane model created a $1.25bn hole in the insurer's previously tight US cat programme, as sister publication The Insurance Insider reported this month.