alternative capital News

A.M. Best: Reinsurance Sector Faces New Reality Shaped by Abundant Capacity

The reinsurance market is operating in a new reality of abundant capacity from traditional and alternative sources, low interest rates and thinner reinsurance margins, driven by intense competition against shrinking demand for reinsurance cover, according to A.M. Best’s annual special …

Fitch: Downward Pricing Pressures in Reinsurance Market Begin to Slow

The reinsurance market showed signs of decelerating rate declines in its most recent June/July 2015 renewals, indicating that pricing could be approaching a new equilibrium, says Fitch Ratings in a new global sector report. Reinsurance pricing has experienced downward pressures …

S&P: ILS Investors Could Get Burned as Covered Perils Expand, Terms Widen

The catastrophe bond market will continue to grow by 10 to 20 percent per year, driven in part by the increase in covered perils and the broadening of event definitions, according to a report published by Standard & Poor’s. But …

Re/insurance Market Conditions Will Lead to More M&A Activity: A.M. Best

Merger and takeover activity is likely to continue in the coming months as re/insurers increasingly seek ways to deploy capital and create scale against a backdrop of ongoing soft market conditions and weak investment returns, according to a special report …

Third Point Re CEO: Reinsurance Not as Easy to Enter as Some People Think

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., co-founded by hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb, said the company is positioned to withstand competition from other investment firms because the industry isn’t as easy to enter as some people think. Fund managers “have a lot of …

A.M. Best: London Market Insurers Face Challenges; Balance Sheets Strong

Trading conditions are difficult in the London market as insurers contend with changing buying habits, an influx of alternative capital and global economic uncertainty, according to a special report published by A.M. Best. The availability of alternative capital in the …

Insurance Linked Securities Specialist Nephila Hired by Blackstone Vehicle

A Blackstone Group LP vehicle offering hedge fund strategies to mutual fund investors plans to allocate money to a firm backed by rival KKR & Co. The Blackstone Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund is hiring Nephila Capital Ltd. as a sub-adviser, according …

Catastrophe Bond Issuance Breaks New Q1 Record: Aon Benfield Report

Catastrophe bond issuance for the first quarter reached a record $1.7 billion – higher than any other first quarter issuance in the history of the insurance linked securities sector (ILS), according to a report published by Aon Benfield Securities, the …

Hannover Re: Capital Markets Are ‘More Friend Than Foe’ to Reinsurers

Pension and hedge funds flush with cash and hungry for yield are creating a market for reinsurers willing to look past the price cuts these investors have inflicted on traditional catastrophe coverage. The growth of insurance-linked products that allow investors …

Catastrophe Bond Issuance Reaches Record Levels: Aon Benfield Report

Property catastrophe bond issuance for the fourth quarter 2014 stood at USD$2.1 billion across six separate transactions, contributing to a record annual property catastrophe bond issuance of USD$8.0 billion, according to a report published by Aon Benfield Securities, the investment …