UAE flooding property insurance loss seen up to US $2.3bn by Gallagher Re

Demonstrating that large industry loss events from severe weather are possible in the Arabian Gulf region, reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has estimated that the property market insured loss from the recent flooding that affected the United Arab Emirates in April will be between US $1.8 billion and $2.3 billion. That’s not the total insurance market […]

Cat bond market in a healthy position with higher-for-longer collateral returns: Plenum

With catastrophe bond issuance so far in 2024 outpacing prior years and supply and demand dynamics contributing to an increase in spreads in recent weeks, Dirk Schmelzer, Managing Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Plenum Investments, the Zurich-headquartered manager of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and related assets, feels the market is in a very healthy and […]

Puerto Rico Parametric Re cat bond grows to $85m, price set to mid-point

The government of Puerto Rico’s first attempt to source parametric insurance from the capital markets through a catastrophe bond appears to have been well-received by the market, as the Puerto Rico Parametric Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond has grown to $85 million in size and looks set to price at the mid-point of guidance, Artemis […]

Reinsurance & third-party capital are key growth levers for insurers: Aon

After capital buffers were eroded for insurers in 2023, a renewed focus on reinsurance as a capital management and growth lever has emerged, while broker Aon says that reinsurance capital and third-party capital are expected to be two of the three main capital tools utilised in future. Aon polls insurers on their use of capital […]

UCITS cat bond fund assets near $12.2bn, up more than 11% YTD

The combined assets under management of the main catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have now surpassed $12 billion for the first time ever, nearing $12.2 billion by the end of May 2024 and now having risen by over 11% so far this year. Catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have experienced strong […]

Major solar storm could drive bigger insured loss than Katrina: Bloomberg

Analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence suggests participants in the insurance and reinsurance industry should be seriously considering how they protect themselves against the risks of losses from major solar storms, with the peril having the potential to be as costly as major hurricanes. “A major space storm could cost insurers even more than a hurricane like […]

NZ EQC adds $1bn to reinsurance tower, securing $9.2bn for 2024 renewal

New Zealand’s EQC Toka Tū Ake, previously known as the New Zealand Earthquake Commission, has added more limit to its reinsurance tower, lifting the top by $1 billion for 2024, in a renewal securing $9.2 billion of cover for disaster losses in the country. The EQC has been growing New Zealand’s disaster reinsurance protection over […]

CEA risk transfer tower stable at $9.1bn after near $1.2bn April renewal

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has maintained its reinsurance and catastrophe bond tower at $9.1 billion in size through the start of 2024, with its most recent renewals for April 1st seeing the insurer securing almost $1.2 billion in protection. When we last covered the CEA, we reported that the group had reached December 31st […]

PGGM calls for more data and transparency in the ILS market

PGGM, the Dutch pension investment manager that is the largest single allocator to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market on behalf of end-client pension PFZW, has issued a call for ILS fund managers to provide more data and transparency. Responding to the recent study published by Swiss based alternative asset advisory specialist SIGLO Capital Advisors AG, […]