January 2013/1

Segregated accounts companies (SACs) and special purpose insurers (SPIs) have been a considerable boon to Bermuda's insurance industry, but are they being used to their full potential? Appleby's Tim Faries and Brad Adderley look at the options

US property catastrophe pricing was roughly flat at 1 January as the recent losses from Sandy and ample capacity pulled the market in different directions, according to reinsurance brokers Guy Carpenter and Willis

Reinsurers are facing pressure to "keep up with the Joneses" in convergence, one Bermudian reinsurance executive noted, as sidecar renewals continued after 1 January despite plentiful traditional capacity

Investors in the pharmaceutical company Elan are suing Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors, alleging that it engaged in illegal insider trading in Elan's options before clinical trial results were released

Allied World Assurance Company has bought a 20 percent minority stake in Bermudian collateralised reinsurance writer Aeolus, buying an equal share from all other partners, to expand its Allied World Financial Services platform

Eskatos combines funds for scale; DCG Iris adds £11mn; Catco raises 2013 target

Several top ILS fund managers have lifted their assets under management (AuM) by considerable sums over the past year

The GAM FCM Cat Bond Fund managed by Fermat Capital has once again topped the table of annual returns for the group of ILS funds tracked by Trading Risk

Average premiums in the ILS and ILW market inched up 2 percent in the fourth quarter but ended the year down 17 percent from their end-March 2012 peak, according to estimates from broker dealer Lane Financial

Strong demand for bonds on the secondary market has outpaced supply after lower-than-expected new issuance in the fourth quarter and first weeks of January

The ILS market is already underway for 2013 with two cat bonds set to close in the first few weeks

Retro rates were largely flat at 1 January as new collateralised capacity continued to support the market, participants reported after the property catastrophe renewals