Articles by Gautam Naik

World’s First Catastrophe-Bond ETF Falters in ‘Crazy’ Market

The world’s first-ever exchange-traded fund based on catastrophe bonds has failed to get the seed capital it expected after launching on the eve of the Trump administration’s tariff war. “Some of our seed capital investors are sitting on the sidelines …

Catastrophe Bonds Among Few Asset Classes Withstanding Meltdown

A bond market designed around natural catastrophes is proving remarkably resilient to a man-made market meltdown. While most markets have seen deep selloffs since Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, investors in catastrophe bonds have sailed through with hardly a …

Catastrophe Experts Tap AI to Tackle Soaring Insured Losses

Insurers are betting on a suite of new AI-driven techniques to better predict surging losses from climate-driven weather catastrophes ranging from unprecedented wildfires to hurricanes and floods. Less than three months into the year, natural disasters are already causing major …

Ex-PIMCO Executive to Run World’s First Catastrophe-Bond ETF

Catastrophe bonds, whose returns have consistently trounced those of high-yield debt markets in recent years, are about to become accessible to a wider group of investors. An exchange-traded fund based on a portfolio of as many as 75 of the …

Europe’s Insurers May Face New Capital Rules for Climate Risk

Europe’s insurance watchdog has called for a recalibration of capital requirements to reflect rising climate-driven disasters across the continent. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority is recommending the industry update the way it accounts for natural catastrophe risks in …

Wildfire-Risk Models Are Struggling to Predict LA-Style Fires

Among natural disasters, wildfires are the great unknown. Even the most-sophisticated scientific models fail to capture all the risk factors or properly account for the increasing impact of climate change. It’s a major problem for homeowners, insurers and investors, as …

Catastrophe Bond Funds Say They’ll Dodge Losses as LA Fires Rage

The wildfires sweeping through Los Angeles are unlikely to trigger significant losses for catastrophe bonds designed to capture such risks. Roughly 12% of the $50 billion cat-bond market is currently exposed to wildfire risk, according to Florian Steiger, chief executive …

Catastrophe-Bond Issuance Pushes Overall Market to Almost $50 Billion

Catastrophe-bond issuance rose to a record this year, increasing the overall market to almost $50 billion, as insurers transferred more risk from costly climate disasters to private investors. Sales of bonds earmarked for supplemental coverage of large windstorms, earthquakes and …

European Central Bank Pitches Plan to Boost Insurance Coverage for Climate Losses

The European Central Bank and the region’s insurance authority proposed a two-pronged approach to increase insurance coverage for floods, storms and other weather disasters that are increasingly being fueled by climate change. One part of the plan is a voluntary …

Insurers’ Climate Losses Almost Match Premiums From Fossil Fuels

Top insurance companies suffered $10.6 billion of climate-attributed losses this year, just shy of the $11.3 billion of direct premiums they underwrote for commercial fossil-fuel clients in 2023, according to Insure Our Future. Of the 28 insurers reviewed, more than …