May 2008/1

Convergence pioneer Swiss Re has launched a new $150mn sidecar vehicle, Sector Re II, to write a quota share retrocession of the group’s global natural catastrophe and aviation catastrophe port

A total of $700mn of life and non-life insurance linked securities (ILS) have been issued to end-April 2008 – a figure which, even with a month to go before the start of the North Atlantic wind

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is set to revise its cat bond methodology, Trading Risk can reveal. The latest move comes as the ratings agencies’ models come under increasing scru

East Lane Re II US insurer Chubb Group’s $200mn cat bond, East Lane Re II, was over-subscribed, proving that a “strong” proposition can still compel investors despite the recent rel

The embedded value (EV) sector of the life insurance linked securities (ILS) sector is a “high growth area”, commented Michael Symonds, SVP at Lehman Brothers, at the 2008 SIFMA ILS confe

Dresdner Kleinwort-owned special purpose reinsurer Bridge Re, has closed its three year $182.5mn Puma Capital retro cat sidecar to new business after just one year of operation due to weaker market c

Hannover Re CEO Wilhelm Zeller said the reinsurer will look to continue with its multi-year K5 sidecar when it comes up for renewal at year-end. Zeller added that Hannover Re had never been as well p

Benfield Group's corporate finance arm Benfield Advisory has developed a new parametric reinsurance product, aimed at transferring workers’ compensation catastrophe (WCC) coverage to reinsurers

State Farm’s 2007 landmark catastrophe bond, Merna Re, is coming under pricing pressure in the secondary market, as investors seek to sell large chunks of the investment grade notes, according

Secondary trading of insurance linked securities (ILS) was estimated to be as high as $1bn in March, with first quarter trading possibly reaching $3bn across the life and non-life cat bond sectors. T

The pioneering ILS Avalon Re was struck by a rash of downgrades following news that a third energy loss could hit the cat bond. Following notifications of claims arising from a New York steam pipe ex

Outstanding non-life insurance linked securities (ILS) limits could reach $70- 100bn within the next 10 years, according to senior market commentators. In a lively discussion on the future of the non