Life-threatening storm surge is already occurring along the coastline from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola Bay and southern portions of Mobile Bay.
The initiative, which has been evaluated by ESG ratings and research provider Sustainalytics,
is part of Trieste-based Generali’s sustainability strategy.
The Floridian carrier has returned to the cat bond market for a third time, adding wildfire, earthquake and winter storm perils to its latest transaction.
ILS broker-dealers’ forecast cat bond issuance will range from $8bn to $11bn this year, reclaiming ground lost in 2019 when annual volumes plummeted more than 40 percent year on year.
Sidecar capacity is likely to be down by at least 20 percent year on year after a renewal in which ILS investors have pulled back significant capacity, sources estimated.
Amid an uncertain year for the life insurance segment, mortality and value-in-force transactions remained the mainstay of life ILS managers as fundraising tapered off after a 2018 growth spurt.
Willis Towers Watson has tipped that greater focus will be drawn to ILS domiciles and structures in 2020 amid an “unusual amount of innovation” from existing and emerging jurisdictions.
Australian investors were among the ILS pioneers and some speculate that consolidation of Australian pensions into mega funds could help grow the industry’s local presence further.
Approval of the settlement agreement puts PG&E on a path to emerge from Chapter 11 by 30 June, which is the deadline to participate in California’s wildfire fund.
As part of the deal, 1347 PIH received five-year rights of first refusal to provide reinsurance on up to 7.5 percent of FedNat’s catastrophe reinsurance programme.
A busier cat bond market is expected while a loss of investor confidence is squeezing the collateralised and sidecar markets, said managing director of GC Securities Des Potter.
Cat losses and higher reinsurance ceded premiums were partially offset by improved underwriting margins and continued discipline over operating expenses, the carrier said.
2019 year to date performance returned to positive territory for the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers index but the firm warned the next two months could be “challenging”.
The New York-listed Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings posted a net income of $1.7mn for the first seven months of 2019, as the run-off process continued.
A group of ILS funds tracked by Trading Risk produced more robust returns in Q3 compared to last year’s third quarter, despite Typhoon Faxai and Hurricane Dorian.
The manager bought back and cancelled 900,000 ordinary shares worth $180,000 at the end of last week, as the process of winding up the business continues.
The RBS pension scheme increased its allocation to insurance in 2018, including catastrophe and life insurance risks, according to its most recent annual report.
The lift in ILW pricing seen at mid-year has been unilateral across most products and was a further increase on the 2018 pricing correction following 2017 events, according to Aon.
Aon’s plan to launch an auction platform in time for 1 January 2020 suggests a struggle is underway in the reinsurance space for the position of auction technology market leader.
ILS investors are unlikely to foot much of the bill from Hurricane Dorian due to the market’s low exposure to Caribbean business, according to sources.
The storm is expected to track approximately 100 miles north of the island with hurricane conditions expected in Bermuda on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the NHC said.
Modelled average annual loss is less than a quarter of the economic estimate, meaning more needs to be done to close the protection gap, the modeller said.
Estimates of insured losses from Faxai are at around $3bn but sources were cautious given Jebi was initially put at the same level but became a $15bn-plus loss.
Developments this year indicate third-party capital will be a disciplined participant requiring adequate risk-adjusted returns, Axis president and CEO Albert Benchimol said.
The asset manager has been forced to pare back sidecar allocations following last year’s disaster activity, and pay out a stream of redemption requests.
PGGM senior investment director Eveline Takken-Somers was named the outstanding contributor of the year at the Trading Risk Awards held in London last night.
Only around half the $3.4bn of cat bonds that have matured this year so far have been renewed, with a further $3.3bn of deals set to expire over the rest of 2019, according to Trading Risk data.
Some of the largest Florida carriers increased their reinsurance limits at this renewal, but they were able to keep control of overall expenditure by opting for more Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) protection.
All insurance has a social purpose but covers for lower income countries should probably be considered more impactful transaction than Florida coastal risk.
Stone Ridge Asset Management has once again been forced to ration redemption requests at its interval fund after investors sought to cash out nearly a quarter of the fund’s share base, Trading Risk can reveal.
Congresswoman Maxine Waters said the National Flood Insurance Program has experienced twelve short-term extensions resulting in brief lapses since fiscal year 2017.
The PK SBB scheme took a 4.5 percent gain from its ILS portfolio last year, as it and a number of peers reported slightly increased allocations to the sector.
Chairman and CEO Bruce Lucas attributed the saving to Heritage diversifying away from Florida, but it also boosted its participation in the Florida Cat Fund.
The Floridian insurer has reduced the target size of the deal from $75mn to $70mn, as spreads on the transaction have risen 23-24 percent year on year.
The Prudential Regulation Authority is committed to ensuring the UK offers an ILS regime which allows the market to develop, says Gareth Truran, head of London market supervision
The prospectus released this month made a play to appeal to investors seeking passive investment strategies and to allow Lloyd’s syndicates to attract more follow-form capacity.
ILS could be used alongside swaps, buy-ins and buyouts to manage pension fund deficits, said Jennifer Donohue of Keystone Law at the ELSA life ILS conference.
Grant Maxwell will be responsible for overseeing the underwriting process for Allianz Risk Transfer’s capital solutions business as well as portfolio management for ART.
Is ILS a sufficient part of Lloyd’s vision for a future of increased efficiency and profitability? There were certainly overtures to alternative capital in the Lloyd’s prospectus launch this week.