Reinsurance News
catastrophe bonds
Catastrophe bonds are an insurance-linked securities (ILS) instrument, where insurance and reinsurance related risks are transferred to the capital markets in Rule 144A securitized formats.
Read our catastrophe bond news and analysis below.
Hamilton sponsors inaugural 144A cat bond
23rd March 2021
Bermuda-based re/insurer Hamilton has sponsored its first 144A industry loss index-triggered catastrophe bond via the issuance of Series 2020-1 Class A Principal-at-Risk Variable Rate Notes by Easton Re. Easton Re was formed in Singapore and is the first index-based transaction approved for issuance by the country’s Monetary Authority. The risk period for ... Read the full article
Danish Red Cross launches first volcano cat bond
22nd March 2021
Partners from across the private and humanitarian have launched the world’s first catastrophe bond for volcano-related disasters on behalf of the Danish Red Cross. The cat bond covers 10 volcanoes across three continents, aiming to raise up to $3 million from investors for aid in the aftermath of an eruption. Initial investors ... Read the full article
FEMA secures a further $575mn of flood reinsurance for NFIP
26th February 2021
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has transferred an additional $575 million of the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) flood risk to the capital markets through the sponsor of its fourth catastrophe bond transaction. FloodSmart Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1) is FEMA's fourth and largest catastrophe bond transaction, providing $575 ... Read the full article
World Bank has ‘only scratched the surface’ on what it can do: Bennett, ILS NYC 2021
18th February 2021
The World Bank has "only scratched the surface" on what it can do with member governments that are looking to transfer some of their disaster risk to the reinsurance sector and the capital markets, according to Michael Bennett, Head of Derivatives & Structured Finance, World Bank Treasury. The World Bank ... Read the full article
Importance of alternative reinsurance capital growing for Swiss Re: ILS NYC 2021
16th February 2021
At Swiss Re, alternative, or third-party reinsurance capital has become an increasing part of the reinsurance giant's capital management strategy, and as the insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class looks to longer-tail classes, the firm is focused on finding ways to transfer risk efficiently. This is according to Judy Klugman, Global ... Read the full article
Record Q4 drives annual ILS issuance to $16.4bn
19th January 2021
In each quarter of 2020, although most notably in Q1 and Q4, catastrophe bond and ILS issuance remained above average. Combined with the previous three quarters, the record-breaking level of both transactions and issuance in Q4 drove annual issuance to $16.4 billion, which, as shown by the Artemis Deal Directory, is ... Read the full article
Third-party capital & ILS assets rise in 2020 as market shows signs of recovery
14th January 2021
Third-party reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) assets under management (AuM) of the top-ten ILS fund and third-party reinsurance capital managers increased to more than $61 billion through H2 2020, led by Nephila Capital, LGT ILS Partners, Fermat Capital Management, and Leadenhall Capital Partners. Data featured in the Artemis Insurance ... Read the full article
Overall cat bond offerings at 1/1 continued to attract significant capital: GC
11th January 2021
Guy Carpenter analysts have reported that overall catastrophe bond offerings during the recent Janurary renewals continued to attract significant capital, while syndicated sidecar and collateralised reinsurance strategies experienced limited new inflows of capital. January 1 allocations were said to have been complicated by Covid-driven year-end loss reserve “buffering” and a high ... Read the full article
New sponsors account for over 13% of record cat bond issuance: Report
8th January 2021
Inaugural full catastrophe bond issuances from insurers and reinsurers in 2020, combined with maiden deals from the largest municipal utility in the U.S. and Google's parent, Alphabet, Inc., contributed to a record year for the catastrophe bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) market. The Artemis Deal Directory ... Read the full article
Pure property catastrophe bonds push market to record high in 2020: Report
4th January 2021
More than $11 billion of pure property catastrophe bond issuance, alongside another active year for mortgage insurance-linked securities (ILS) deals, helped the catastrophe bond and related ILS marketplace break records in 2020, according to Artemis. The recently published Q4 2020 catastrophe bond and ILS market report from our sister ... Read the full article
RMS assists Willis Re, Securian on first indemnity-based mortality cat bond
23rd November 2020
Catastrophe risk modelling company RMS worked with Willis Re Securities and Securian Financial on the launch of La Vie Re Limited (Series 2020-1), a mortality catastrophe bond providing $100 million of reinsurance protection for Minnesota Life Insurance Company, a Securian Financial affiliate. The notes being issued by La Vie Re were ... Read the full article
Swiss Re Capital Markets announces $775m cat bond for Cali Earthquake Authority
23rd October 2020
Swiss Re Capital Markets, a division of the global reinsurance giant, has announced the successful structuring and placement of $775 million in insurance-linked securities by Ursa Re II Ltd. The catastrophe bond will be used for the protection of the California Earthquake Authority (CEA). CEA protects policyholders in California against earthquakes and ... Read the full article
L&H cat bonds most at risk from COVID-19: AM Best
15th May 2020
Analysts at AM Best believe that life and health (L&H) related catastrophe bonds face the greatest threat of losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with other insurance-linked securities (ILS). The rating agency expects the overall impact of the pandemic on the ILS market to be limited, given that the underlying risk ... Read the full article
SCOR taps capital markets for $200mn of multi-year reinsurance capacity
5th May 2020
Global insurer and reinsurer SCOR has successfully sponsored a new catastrophe bond transaction, providing the Group with $200 million of multi-year risk transfer capacity from the capital markets, to protect against storms in the U.S. and earthquakes in the U.S. and Canada. SCOR has returned to the catastrophe bond market with ... Read the full article
Florida Citizens targets $1.581bn reinsurance & cat bond renewal for 2020
4th May 2020
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is out in the market seeking roughly $1.581 billion of fresh reinsurance coverage from its 2020 reinsurance renewal of both traditional and catastrophe bond coverage. Our sister publication Artemis was first to report today that Florida Citizens is back in the catastrophe bond market targeting ... Read the full article
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