Twelve Securis merger completes, creating one of the largest ILS managers with $8.5bn
Twelve Securis has been established with $8.5 billion of assets under management (AUM) making the newly branded and combined ILS manager one of the largest in the sector, after the merger of Twelve Capital and Securis Investment Partners has now completed. Twelve Capital and Securis Investment Partners had originally announced their intention to merge in July […]
Rail bridge links nations along the Silk Road
China-Europe freight rail services experienced significant growth last year. In 2024, trains made 19,000 trips, representing a 10 percent increase compared to the previous year, and transported over 2 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of cargo, a 9 percent rise year-on-year. Launched in 2011 as a flagship program of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, this […]
CEA prices Ursa Re 2025-1 cat bond for 100% upsized $400m of reinsurance
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has now priced its latest catastrophe bond issuance, successfully doubling the Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) offering in size to provide it with $400 million in multi-year collateralized California earthquake reinsurance protection. The CEA recently returned to the catastrophe bond market with an initial target to secure $200 million or more in multi-year […]
Neuberger Berman ILS gets $250m Virginia Retirement System allocation
Neuberger Berman Insurance-Linked Strategies, the specialist ILS investment management arm of the global asset manager, won a $250 million mandate and immediately funded allocation from giant US state pension plan the Virginia Retirement System at the end of last year. The allocation has been made to a closed-end fund focused on insurance-linked securities (ILS), although […]
NCIUA sponsoring $350m named storm cat bond, Cape Lookout Re 2025-1
The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) has returned to the capital markets seeking $350 million of annual aggregate named storm reinsurance protection through this Cape Lookout Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) catastrophe bond. Returning in 2025, the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) is sponsoring the seventh catastrophe bond under its Cape Lookout Re Ltd. program of deals. […]
UCITS catastrophe bond funds positive in January despite wildfire mark-downs
Catastrophe bond fund strategies in the UCITS format averaged positive returns for the month of January 2025, despite the effects of wildfire related mark-downs to exposed positions, according to the latest data from the Plenum CAT Bond UCITS Fund Indices. As we had reported before, the Los Angeles, California wildfires had already had a minimal effect on […]
Hannover Re lifts retrocession cover to €1.2bn for 2025 as K-Cessions sidecar shrinks again
Global reinsurer Hannover Re increased its natural catastrophe retrocession protections at the January 1st, 2025, reinsurance renewals by EUR 100 million to a little more than EUR 1.2 billion, with growth in the aggregate excess of loss and whole account excess of loss covers more than offsetting a reduced K-Cessions sidecar for the year. This […]
CEA lifts Ursa Re 2025-1 cat bond target to as much as $375m
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has increased the targeted amount of multi-year collateralized California earthquake reinsurance protection it seeks from capital market investors through its new Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance, with now up to $375 million of coverage being sought, while the price guidance has been fixed at 7.5%, Artemis has learned. The CEA recently […]
LA wildfires trigger cat bond market’s first-ever negative January return: Icosa
Recent estimates suggest that insured losses from the Los Angeles, California wildfires could be higher than anticipated. As a result, catastrophe bond prices are showing signs of weakness, with the market’s benchmark recording its first-ever negative January return since its inception over two decades ago, according to cat bond fund manager Icosa Investments AG. With […]
2024 cat bond returns to consolidate value proposition, maintain attractiveness: Swiss Re
According to Swiss Re Capital Markets, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market continued the growth trend of recent years throughout 2024, as the last twelve months were marked by a “robust performance” for cat bond investors in the absence of events large enough to have a significant impact on the market. In a new report, the […]