Trading Risk June 2019

Aspen Re has appointed Meredith Head as leader of North America property catastrophe. She will join in September and report directly to Aspen Re CUO and Aspen Bermuda CEO Christian Dunleavy.

As the FCA updates the market on its view of the Woodford funds saga, some of the material it is publishing has echoes that may resonate within the ILS market.

Ten months on from Typhoon Jebi, there is still considerable uncertainty around why the storm’s insured losses are expected to be so much higher than the initial modelled figures.

However, the verdict on whether Florida rate increases were enough to satisfy underwriters still seems a split one.

The ILS market has broadly welcomed moves by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) to create a new collateralised insurance vehicle, but opinions vary on whether the new rules will prove to be onerous.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) is marketing its $1bn reinsurance programme but has indicated it is looking for flat risk-adjusted rates, according to sources.

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.

The streak of tornadoes in the US this May means 2019 is set to have highest level of activity since 2011 but the impact on (re)insurers will be offset by lower than average hail events.

All insurance has a social purpose but covers for lower income countries should probably be considered more impactful transaction than Florida coastal risk.

Catalina, Premia and a consortium made up of Compre and Hudson Structured are among the bidders through to the second round of the sale process for the Standard Syndicate and Charles Taylor’s Lloyd’s business, sister publication The Insurance Insider reported.

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.