Catastrophe bonds

Australia's sovereign wealth fund, the Future Fund, has provided new detail on its reinsurance mandate in its 2014-2015 annual report, indicating the investment was around $100mn in size.

The second half of 2015 saw a trend for cat bond sponsors and investors to rotate towards higher risk-return positions, GC Securities said in its fourth-quarter ILS update.

AIG picked out expanded use of reinsurance as one of six ways that will help it return at least $25bn to shareholders over the next two years.

Credit Suisse is moving forward with plans to raise support for operational risk insurance from a catastrophe bond-like instrument, Trading Risk understands.

The "Snowzilla" blizzard that hit the eastern US over the weekend (22-24 January) is expected to cause billion-dollar damages, Impact Forecasting said.

The Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund delivered an 11.58 percent gain for 2015, as UK flooding and US tornadoes dented returns by 1.75 percent.

Pricing on Aetna's new $200mn health insurance-linked cat bond Vitality Re VII settled at the top end of guidance, sources told Trading Risk.

Hudson Structured Capital Management has recruited former Ariel Re underwriter Edouard von Herberstein to join Tim Tetlow in launching the firm's Bermuda office, Trading Risk has learned

Aon Securities has forecast that ILS funds will see slightly more inflows in 2016 than last year, as the maturity of the market continues to fuel growth.

XL is set to raise its targeted $300mn of reinsurance cover from a new Galileo Re cat bond as pricing on the deal fell below the original marketed range, Trading Risk understands.

ILS brokers estimate the cat bond market may see $7bn of new issuance during 2016, as the sector's growth continues albeit at a slower rate.

The ILS market remains on track for continued growth in 2016, despite cat bond spreads becoming marginally less competitive than other reinsurance options last year, according to a report from Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA).