ILWs

The agency noted inflows to cat bond funds and investor interest in private ILS.

Dedicated reinsurance capital is on track to increase by 8% in 2025, the broker said.

The broker has nearly 20 years of experience in the reinsurance and retro markets.

The fund’s ILS portfolio is split between 70% property cat and 30% cyber risk.

Buyers have turned to retro markets for covers where ILW pricing is less attractive.

The team will focus on building out Miller’s property treaty, retro and ILS capabilities, it’s understood.

The broker has also hired fellow Aon broker Barry Gordon in a role trading ILWs.

The bond was trading at around 12.3c on the dollar in the secondary market last month.

There is the potential for cat bond H1 issuance to be a record breaking six months.

The role will focus on international treaty, specialty lines and strategic advisory.

Dispersion of returns was high, with the range 0.87% to -3.71%.

Neuberger Berman’s AuM stood at $3.2bn as of 1 January 2025.

The offering is a collaboration with Generali and parametric carrier Descartes.

The platform will transform ILS transactions on behalf of Jireh and SRS clients.

The platform will match partner capital to provide capacity for reinsurance placements.

Two 2021 worldwide aggregate ILW notes are also among the markdowns.

The ILS and reinsurance broker was established last October by Raj Jadeja.

Cat bonds were a key supply-side driver at 1 January 2025.

Investment in the space comes mainly from the cat bond market, Gallagher Re said.

Casualty ILS made inroads, while hurricane hedging strategies came into focus.

Initial spread guidance for the three-year bond is set at 425-500bps.

Euler ILS Partners and Tropical Storm Risk teamed up to produce an updated version of an earlier study.

Tyler left Gallagher Re earlier this year.

CEO Adrian Cox said Beazley’s recent $290mn ILW purchase was not driven by “capital flexibility in and of itself”.

Latest pricing suggests secondary market traders are baking in further loss development.

The firm will provide an update on 22 November to avoid holiday season.

The low PCS number is presenting a challenge for ILW buyers and sellers.

The loss tally is considerably lower than estimates issued by model vendors.

Cat bonds, private ILS and retro were all kept at “strongly overweight”.

Hurricane Milton will show the ILS product behaving as investors expect it to.

The event has spared (re)insurers the more extreme scenarios that were under discussion earlier this week.

Collateralised reinsurance and retro are in the firing line.

The deal has reduced the carrier’s one-in-250-year cyber loss scenario from $651mn to $461mn.

The firm’s deals so far have covered cat risk, with space ILS in scope for the future.

The ILW specialist is believed to be exploring new opportunities.

The insurer said once firms give up lower attachments or aggregates they “simply do not get them back”.

Insurance Insider ILS reported in June that the company had bought substantial ILW coverage.

Cat bonds, private ILS and retro are "strongly overweight".

The fund follows an earlier climate change-focused ILS initiative from the firm.

The broker estimated ILS capacity reached a record $107bn as cat bond interest surged.

ILS capital so far is viewed by sponsors as strategic rather than essential.

The firm is the sole provider to offer index services in the US.

The ILS manager targeted aggregate and second-event covers.

Concerning hurricane forecasts are among the factors driving tighter reinsurer capacity.

Top layer competition is an added pressure on ILS firms, but the impact can be overstated.

The second part of the PoleStar Re issuance takes the bond's total volume to $300mn.

Dan Vestergren has started investing in cat risk but the firm may look more broadly over time, sources said.

Rates are still materially higher than pre-pandemic and lower layers are holding firmer.

Gordon was set to join start-up brokerage Juniper Re last month.

The Mexican government’s IBRD quake bond priced 4% ahead of guidance.

Various trends may work together to hold the cat markets up for longer than some had feared.

Increased ILW purchasing reflects cash-rich funds looking to protect return levels.

Juniper Re Bermuda received preliminary approval from the BMA last month.

The state carrier is moving to redeem its 2022 Everglades issuance a year early.

The challenger broker is continuing to build out its presence on the island.

The broker platform has managed nearly $100mn of capacity.

Typical ILW attachment points for US peak perils have fallen from $60bn to $40bn-$50bn as the market awaits the final Hurricane Ian number from PCS.

The investment firm said cat bond spreads that are elevated relative to historical levels continue to offer an attractive entry point for investors.

The sidecars segment has been attracting inflows after returns hit a high note in 2023.

The deal was brokered by Gallagher Re and provides US cyber insurance event protection.

In its semi-annual report for the six months to 31 July 2023, the manager said the fund had returned 2.74% over the half-year.

The broker’s 1st View report predicted that cat bond issuance should remain elevated until at least Q2 2024.

Highlighting regions where the demand for SRCC products is increasing, stakeholders can tailor offerings more effectively, the PCS said.

The cost of maintaining a team to service institutional investors does not always weigh favourably versus bringing in ILS capital.

Alexander will join after his competitive restrictions are up.

Morrison spent four years as an underwriter at Securis before moving to Aeolus in 2018.

ILW limit of around $1bn could change hands depending on where the Hurricane Ian industry loss number settles.

The firm’s 1st View report on the July renewals also flagged that an oversupply of ILW capacity may bring down attachment points relative to early 2023.

The broker estimated global reinsurance capital rose by $30bn over the first quarter, with a 7% uplift in alternative capital and a 5% recovery to traditional equity.

The $49.4bn number remains below a critical ILW threshold.

The bond provides coverage for North America storms and earthquakes, as well as European windstorms.

Industry loss triggered deals offer a degree of simplicity to investors seeking index-linked exposure.

The firm noted that investor pushback at the January renewal had resulted in "the cleanest risk" being transferred to the capital markets.

UBS previously explored setting up an ILS offering, but instead opted to offer other firms’ products.

The new offering is structured to solve ongoing ILS market problems including trapped capital, extended settlement times, economic inflation, social inflation, non-modelled risks and pricing uncertainty.

The reinsurance and ILS leader joined the firm in 2012 during a “rollercoaster” year for industry loss warranties.

Reinsurers congregating in Bermuda flagged a lack of interest in helping under-capitalised Floridian insurers and under-priced diversifiers, with positive implications for ILS participation.

Former retro broker Erik Manning is leading the initiative having joined BMS Re in January.

The appointments aim to provide clients with a product-agnostic view on accessing capital in a capacity-constrained market.

The two top-performing funds in 2022 were interval funds.

The investment analysts wrote that market dislocation offered an opportunity to invest on attractive historic yields.

Conviction for ILS has shifted to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at the manager.

The former Aspen Capital Markets COO hopes to set up fronting partnerships for reinsurers wanting to build out in ILS.

The Swiss direct risk transfer platform will use the funds to help grow its team and develop products.

Their view that “investors have never had it so good” speaks of a market in an upbeat mood as of January.

Just over a month ago, Floir reported claims relating to Hurricane Ian worth $10.3bn.

The update to the October figure implies the ultimate number will comfortably breach the $50bn mark.

The exit highlights increasingly difficult conditions in the retro and reinsurance markets.

Inigo earlier trimmed the bond’s scope of perils to exclude Japan typhoon and quake.

The cover is triggered by PCS territory-weighted industry loss and attaches at $12.5bn.

The increased yield reflects the harder post-Ian market.

The Lloyd’s insurer is seeking $100mn from its latest issuance, which features a narrower scope of coverage, as carriers prepare for a harder reinsurance renewal.

For larger top-end ILW triggers, cedants may have to be pragmatic on rolling over capital.

Lower-attaching Florida ILWs had been more in demand at this year’s mid-year renewals.

The cat bond market has a high level of exposure to Florida wind risk.

Amid a wide range of industry loss estimates, it is clear that ILS trapped capital will be a major issue for 2023 with back-of-the-envelope calculations suggesting at least double-digit billions held.

Florida domestic insurers have around $2.5bn of on-risk cat bonds, with flood and other ILW based deals exposed to the storm.

The former Gallagher Re broker is the second departure from the firm in Bermuda since the Willis Re sale.

The ratings firm also predicted that ILS losses from Covid-19 would remain limited.

The Sompo International company was placed into run-off in June 2019.

The industry is sharpening its exposure forecasting capabilities in response to investor demand.

HSCM has had a majority stake in the company since 2020.

The ratings agency has given the carriers until next week to respond.

Kalachian moves from Allianz where he was a managing director.

The firm assigned a neutral outlook overall to ILS but is strongly positive on many non-life risks as it seeks diversifying strategies that can withstand inflation.

Its half-year gain was down slightly from 1.43% in the prior year period.

Sources say investor capacity may be returning to the market, but hurricane season could “make or break” the market.

Australia and Florida buyers faced capacity problems as inflation drives up pricing.

The 1 June renewal posed challenges for Florida insurers seeking reinsurance cover.

It is the reinsurance company’s first entry to the cat bond market.

Rates have climbed 20%-35% since 1 January, and 40%-50% year on year, sources estimated.

Some cedants remain far behind in a stressed renewal, but others are on the path to completion in a reshaped Florida market.

Aeolus must return the held collateral to Credit Suisse.

The fund’s prospectus showed 2017 was its only negative year since 2014.

Despite a move away from non-official indices, global ILW trading is still sometimes relying on a patchwork of triggers.

The 2020 start-up raised $115mn from the Montoya Re bond.

The feeder fund to Neuberger Berman ILS strategies took a defensive stance ahead of 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.

Reciprocal carriers could become more popular, but while this could better serve capital providers it does nothing to address underlying problems.

It will offer components for buyers looking for indemnity, parametric or blended coverage.

The reinsurer said it was anticipating increased volume for catastrophe bonds and collateralised reinsurance this year.

Greater participation of cat bond investors in the retro market has some advantages alongside the risks.

There is a lack of capacity for aggregate deals, and moves towards more named peril coverage.

Retro renewals have made major progress in early January, but programme gaps remain at some levels, with reinsurers left carrying more risk net.

The ILW-focused fund has continued expanding after generating 6.4% returns last year.

As the renewal is expected to spill over into 2022, the two-speed market will put pressure on retro-reliant carriers.

The listed mutual fund will be overseen by new recruit Niall MacGillivray.

Pricing was generally stable but investors are showing more aversion to specific climate-exposed perils, sources noted.

1 January renewals are running late across the board as reinsurers hold out for improved terms, but the retro segment is the most challenged for capacity.

Nearly three months on, the event still seems heavily stacked towards residential claims.

One market participant said the strategy was $250mn in size, but it is not known how much business it has so far written.

Overall the cat bond market will be lightly impacted by the storm, with the Swiss Re total return index down 0.35%.

The reporting agency for industry loss triggers has been expanding territories and natural peril coverage over time.

The $20bn threshold will be a key trigger for non-livecat ILW trades exposed to Ida, as buyers’ fears grew after the storm intensified.

There were a number of moves and new acquisitions at Aon this month, as the broker shuffled its reinsurance management team.

Aggregate deals remain an exposure, but overall Ida should be a more readily digested loss than surprise disaster scenarios.

Pre-landfall livecat ILW interest was marked by a $15bn-$20bn split in buy/sell appetite.

The hire comes as other challenger brokers have added ILW experts, including Price Forbes and Lockton Re.

The collapse of the Aon-Willis deal will have no noticeable impact on the ILS broking business, as the market waits to see what the fate of the Willis Re team will be.

Sources told Trading Risk that a different kind of investor was interested in ILWs compared with retro cat bonds.

Rates are still more than 40% ahead of the pre-Hurricane Irma trough in late 2016.

Richard Anson previously served as head of ceded reinsurance at Antares and reinsurance manager for Aviva.

May and June people moves included several former Aon retro executives taking on new roles at challenger broker Lockton Re, longtime Credit Suisse executive Marcel Grandi moving to an advisory role at Twelve Capital, and several underwriting moves in Bermuda.

Reinsurers are talking about a new era of elevated risks, but their behaviour may signal a more relaxed view heading into 2022.

Davies most recently served as head of global Re specialty Bermuda for the firm’s reinsurance division.

The former Peak Capital CEO has left the ILS platform he set up.

The fund will limit capacity to $400mn or 1.5% market share, and minimise exposure to secondary risks.

It will look to raise between $240mn and $300mn from the bond which was initially marketed at the bottom end of this range.

The carrier has shaved 50 basis points off the projected coupon for the ILW bond.

There is little sign of retro demand returning after buyers cut back in January.

Divergence between appetite for upper and lower layer reinsurance risk may drive some panel turnover, and disadvantage some segments.

The worldwide aggregate ILW bond covers an unusually wide range of perils for the cat bond sector.

The former Bermuda Brokers and JLT Re broker says ILW appetite is expected to remain strong after benefitting from pandemic trading activity.

The transaction takes total private cat bond issuance tracked by Trading Risk to $461mn for the year, outstripping 2020 totals.

ILS managers said strong appetite for more liquid investments made bondholders want to hang on to their securities in Q1.

The ILW deal will offer a spread of 1775-1850 basis points (bps), including a wide range of perils and notably high coupon for the ILS market.

The Bermuda (re)insurance firm will pay a final spread on the deal of 675 basis points (bps).

The spread on the aggregate ILW bond for the first-time sponsor has dropped by 7%.

Could investors – and ILS managers – be ready for another attempt at developing the retail ILS market?

The manager says cedant demand is growing for larger transactions.

The deal will give the insurer annual aggregate ILW coverage.

State Farm has more than replaced an expiring $300mn cat bond, while Horseshoe’s platform did its second deal for the year.

Investment bank partner Tom Deane said that reinsurers would remain crucial to the market and that the beginnings of rebuilding were underway that could reverse some current trends.

Declining listed issuance volumes could be down to a growing desire for transparency and flexibility after recent loss years.

The firm has seen interest in non-named storm covers after last year's derecho and other loss events.

The investment bank is focused on developing new parametric products for the reinsurance market.

The broker was most recently global head of the ILW practice for Aon’s reinsurance solutions unit.

The start-up aims to place $1bn in capacity this year.

Investor interest in the asset class should continue through 2021, but the firm has stepped back its outlook from an “overweight” recommendation.

December and January people moves in the ILS market.

US contracts are still pricing at a 10%-15% premium to January 2020 levels, but excess retro capacity may impact the smaller market.

The retro specialist joins the firm as it prepares to expand its reinsurance interests after spinning out of Willis.

Quarterly report reveals that bond prices went “sideways” in Q4, but market remains hard.

Slew of maturities and competitive pricing environment make the cat bond market attractive for sponsors, brokers say

Net assets have grown 5% year-on-year to $876mn as of 31 October 2020.

Target investments could include cat bonds and other reinsurance, though the allocation size is unknown.

The InsurTech announced a partnership with Lockton Re earlier this month, and completed a fundraise in the fall.

The ILS manager is in cost-cutting mode as assets shrink, but the run-off may lead other ILS managers to reconsider their tactics with rated platforms.

Retro deals make up a third of this year's volumes, versus a quarter in 2019.

The new hire comes after a slew of senior appointments made by the start-up in recent months.

The deal will provide the insurer with annual aggregate ILW cover.

Q4 issuance will likely be robust owing to new investors and increased allocations, the CEO said.

Industry veteran Payne was most recently at Credit Suisse Lloyd’s syndicate Arcus.

The fund also grew its net assets by 15% to about $142mn.

Chris Schaper becomes Validus Re CEO, Pat Regan suddenly departs QBE and more.

Enterprise and property cat reinsurance are a “must have,” chief risk officer Julia Chu says.

The start-up will run three auctions on Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Sally reaching the US coast.

The appointment follows a number of senior departures from Aon’s reinsurance ranks.

Total equity and debt raised this year if the $300mn target is reached would approach $1.5bn.

A reluctance on the part of the market to innovate on the trapped issue might lead to more investment in rated vehicles.

LGT ILS Partners, Swiss Re and Pool Re's Baltic Re cat bond were among the winners of the Trading Risk awards 2020.

People moves in the ILS marketplace.

ILWs at the $10bn mark failed to clear, as auction participants suggested losses would not reach the trigger.

Buyers and sellers are eyeing a 20% RoL, but contracts have yet to trade.

Buyers are looking to protect against a mid-sized loss, although trades are not believed to have taken place yet.

Retro specialist Richard Wheeler will head the unit, which will focus on sourcing third-party capacity.

The $3.9mn claim followed an August revision to the PCS Irma loss estimate.

The broker has recruited a significant team to build out in the retro space.

The growth follows the reinsurer expanding its relationship with PGGM.

A number of major carriers have bought new catastrophe covers, but the overall gain is likely to be muted, brokers forecast.

The hedge fund has asked that a US court order Catco to apply a loss estimate from PCS, rather than an allegedly “inaccurate” one from Munich Re NatCat.

The German insurer has placed a new EUR200mn worldwide cat agg deal.

Reinsurance capacity has largely bounced back from an initial Covid-19 hit, but the ILS segment remains more disrupted.

The climate and insurance entrepreneur is considering relaunching catastrophe exchange-traded products.

The deal could be expanded by up to 50 percent at the top end of pricing guidance.

Limited mid-year trading has continued but buyers have cut back.

The Bermudian ILS manager closed some months ago.

The bond will provide second-event US wind and quake cover.

The bond’s spread has settled at the top of the (re)insurer's target range.

Trading was brought forward this year and more cedants could head to bond market.

The bond will renew only part of previous Blue Halo cover benefitting Nephila's fronting partner.

The platform said a narrowing spread between buy and sell offers on ILWs suggests more trades will clear.

Reinsurers have held the line on pricing as cedants seek to close out deals, with the market showing further hardening.

ILW volumes could grow by more than 25 percent in 2020 as reinsurers seek alternatives to indemnity retro cover, sources said.

The sidecar’s AuM has held steady and remains an important hedging mechanism to the reinsurer, it said.

The carrier flagged that it has lower quota share and ILS support this year.

The Markel co-CEO said the firm was warehousing retro risk until it raised capital for new platform Lodgepine.

The dispute centres on ILWs that used Munich Re loss estimates as their trigger.

The broker said Covid-19 industry claims should be manageable but the disaster makes a broader capacity squeeze more likely.

The marketplace said $87mn in capacity was offered in the past week's auction.

The fund generated more than double the return on the Swiss Re Cat Bond Index in Q4 19.

Tremor’s CEO said the “(re)insurance market must remain open for business” during this turbulent period.

Hailstorm losses have caused significant motor losses in past years.

Climate change and ILS strategies: reshaping the market's response

The cat bond could help lower barriers to collateralised participation in primary business, says the ratings agency.

Pricing dropped 6 percent from the midpoint of the initial range to reach 9.75 percent.

Bermuda carrier tactics highlight increased reliance.

New issuances fell to the lowest level since 2011, amid an uptick in risk levels and US exposures, according to Trading Risk data.

Pricing on the ILW bond has dropped below the initial guidance range.

The average cat bond yield was 7.48 percent by year end as cat bond issuance picked up.

Markel is fronting the deal, which will cover insurance business transacted for Nephila by State National.

The retro transaction priced below the target range, according to sources.

The reinsurer is thought to be buying the ILW protection for its own account, sources said.

Insurers ceded 52 percent of gross losses in 2018, an increase of 2.4 percent on the 2017 total.

Sources are expecting some $5bn-trigger second-event covers to pay out as a result of the Typhoon.

More than $2bn of reinsurance quotes have been placed on the platform, with ILS funds among the market participants.

The (re)insurer had previously removed two tranches from the multi-peril transaction

He will have a similar mandate at New York-based One William Street as he had at recently-sold hedge fund BlueMountain.

The retro renewals are still in the calm-before-the storm phase but it seems that capacity limitations are set to open up more of a role for opportunistic players.

The aggregator will provide loss data from earthquakes, floods and extratropical cyclones.

Dan Bailey will join the intermediary's London office next month.

A PCS update on Irma had led to a full loss on two contracts, the fund said in an SEC filing.

Rates fell back to their Q1 levels after experiencing an uplift in the second quarter of the year.

The August return was significantly below the 14-year historical average of 0.63 percent, according to the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index.

Reconstruction in the ILS market continues, with ongoing concerns about investor sentiment, capacity growth and the impact of retro rates

The cover provided by Insurance Linked Notes is tradeable by both the buyer and seller.

Both LGT and Schroders have signed up to the ILS notes trading platform.

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.

Typhoon Faxai losses are unlikely to have a significant impact on the ILS markets, based on current industry estimates.

The risk modelling firm has released the highest estimate for industry losses so far and the top end of its prediction could hit some ILWs.

The firm’s estimate points to a higher top-of-the-range loss than early market forecasts of between $1.5bn and $5bn.

Former Tokio Millennium Re CEO Tatsuhiko ‘Tats’ Hoshina is now the chief commercial officer at the start-up.

The loss tracking agency's data has been used on $17bn of reinsurance limit in its 10 year history.

The executive left Aeolus last year having been with the fund manager since 2009.

Reinsurance conditions began moving in investors’ favour in mid-year 2019, marking a delayed reaction to 2017-2018 losses.

A day ago, cover that attached at $40bn was being offered at 15 percent rate on line.

Discussions are now being held around ILWs triggering at $30bn or $40bn.

The volcano cat bond is being structured so that will be open to investment from other ILS funds.

Activity in the first half of the year was the lowest since 2011.

The reinsurer’s $150mn Atlas IX Capital 2015-1 cat bond has partially triggered following an accumulation of PCS losses, sources said.

The Lane Financial index has returned to levels not seen since 2012.

The bond priced below the lowest end of the initial guidance.

The reinsurer is looking to pay more rate to secure retro cover in a tightening market.

The fund manager has previously raised capital via Bermuda share issuances under prior owners.

Rising Jebi losses will contribute to a squeeze on capacity.

The ILW-focused company plans to go public before the end of the year.

Nephila, historically one of the biggest buyers of industry loss warranties, has exited the market, sources have said.

Procter has been tasked with helping Akinova drive participation in its electronic trading platform for (re)insurance risk.

At 31 January this year, the fund’s net assets reached $62.4mn, almost double the $34.2mn total assets at the same point last year.

The MGA is aiming for more than EUR10mn of premiums for the first underwriting year.

New aggregate demand from Japanese cedants may also present opportunities for ILS markets.

The past two years challenged the catastrophe (re)insurance market more than any period since the Hurricane Katrina era in 2004-2005 – but it is far from clear what the outcome will be this time around.

A decrease in capacity following last year’s losses is thought to be one of the largest drivers of the rate increase.

The increase suggests a return to “hard market territory.”

Total assets have grown from $45.6mn at the end of July. 

This publication retraces the series of loss predictions made by the manager for its listed Reinsurance Opportunities Fund over the past year.

The firm’s 2017 portfolio loss has risen 15.7 percent to 57.1 percent.

The ILS market is often presented as the player in the (re)insurance industry with the deepest pockets, with access to trillions of pension fund wealth in worldwide bank vaults.

The initial estimate suggests an ultimate outcome broadly in line with market expectations.

The industry loss warranty will trigger based on a specified number of users in a network experiencing network failure.

Hurricane Michael is likely to have triggered Floridian window industry loss warranties (ILWs), sources told Trading Risk. The window covers typically attach at ranges between $2bn-10bn and $7bn-15bn, covering Florida wind risks only.

Neuberger Berman has a diverse base of investors in areas Cartesian Re's ILS platform has not drawn from.

The $1bn ILW specialist will be remained NB Insurance-Linked Strategies after the sale.

Former Marsh broker Richard Green has joined as regional head of the alternative risk transfer business.

The firm's latest figure for the storm is up from a $25.7bn estimate reported by this publication in June.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Insured losses from Hurricane Michael have been estimated to fall within a wide $3bn to $10bn range.

Appetite for last-minute cover appears muted ahead of Hurricane Michael’s landfall in Florida.

The two firms both have large offices on the island, which could create overlap.

City National Rochdale’s Select Strategies fund had posted a -3.90 percent loss at 31 January, driven by HIM.

Capital inflows continue to exceed loss outflows, the firm said.

Tullett Prebon has signed up 60 clients so far to its London-based Insurance Linked Notes (ILN) platform, which enables lower-cost and anonymous live trading of industry loss-based securities.

The city of Osaka sustained most of the losses.

The National Hurricane Center predicted catastrophic freshwater flooding as the eye of the hurricane touched down at Wrightsville Beach.

The broker says its platform will offer a lower-cost, anonymous alternative to other sources of hedging.

Former TigerRisk broker Andrew DiLoreto is joining Willis Re's Bermuda retro team while Willis' James Troughton is moving to the island as an executive vice president.

Heise will identify insurance marketplace pain points to assist Akinova in realising its goal of launching an electronic trading platform for (re)insurance risk, the company said.

The July return of the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index is similar to the 13-year historical average return for the month of 0.59 percent.

Many ILS entrepreneurs have already successfully cashed out.

C shareholders in the Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, who are not exposed to the 2017 losses, saw a return of 6.31 percent for H1 2018 amid low catastrophic activity during the period.

The London-based company has appointed CEO of bond trading platform OpenDoor Trading Susan Estes as an advisor.

The Bermuda-based company said a smaller capital base and greater cessions to third-party reinsurers led to the decrease.

The latest increase in PCS figures for hurricanes Harvey and Irma means that US wind aggregate industry loss warranties (ILWs) that trigger at $30bn have been hit, Trading Risk sources said.

Retro purchasing rose modestly at the mid-year renewals, but this did not prevent rate increases from slowing, sources said.

ILS premiums steadied after a 9.5 percent drop in the first quarter, according to Lane Financial's benchmark.

In its 1st View report the broker said the impetus for risk-adjusted rate increases had stalled at the June and July renewals.

The insurance merchant bank is planning to feed most of the fund’s capital into a quota share retrocession contract with Iris Re.

European loss aggregator Perils has joined forces with Toronto-based analytics firm CatIQ to launch Canada’s first exposure database.

The fund raised an additional $10mn in the three months to 30 April 2018.

The fundraise comes as the firm is hiring to expand its ILS strategy.

Is the industry ready to accept new attempts to create live trading platforms?

Demand for retrocession is expected to be up slightly at the mid-year renewals, but with relatively little business concluded so far there is no clear outlook on how rates will hold up.

Hatteras Funds, a North Carolina-based alternative asset manager, has launched the fifth new ILS strategy this year and joins a trend of more feeder funds being set up in the asset class.

London-based start-up Akinova is developing an electronic trading platform for (re)insurance risk and is planning to start with listing a version of an industry loss warranty (ILWs) called an “AELO” – an Akinova Event Linked Option.

The concept of reinsurance market “payback” – higher premiums that follow major losses – might well be dead.

The alternative investment specialist has set up a new interval fund to invest in quota shares and other reinsurance instruments.

Rate increases have mostly been limited to low attaching Floridian wind cover.

The ILS market proved sceptics wrong in 2017 - the year of "the great reload" - as investors accepted claims and returned with fresh capital, Leadenhall CEO Luca Albertini said today at Trading Risk's ILS conference in London.

The latest PCS loss number for Hurricane Harvey has edged up to $17.1bn, from a prior figure of $15.7bn, sources told Trading Risk.

City National Rochdale's select strategies ILW feeder fund posted a loss of 3.90 percent in its first six months of operation, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, as it benefitted from a reduction to Hurricane Irma loss estimates.

Lane Financial's ILS rate-on-line index dropped by 9.5 percent in the first quarter, marking a softening to the initial rating spike that took place after last year's hurricane activity.

Nephila's Lloyd's syndicate 2357 fell to a $120.6mn loss in 2017 as its combined ratio spiked up to 167 percent.

MGA Rokstone Underwriting has launched a new property treaty division with capacity from the Cayman Islands.

If ILS capital is designed to be the ultimate home for catastrophe risk, how far should asset managers look to hedge their investors' bets?

Hiscox Re has introduced the first ever cyber industry loss warranty to the ILS and reinsurance markets.