cat bonds News

Swiss Re Places $130 Million Cat Bond for Hurricanes, European Wind

Swiss Re has obtained a further $130 million in protection through the Successor X Ltd. catastrophe bond program, which covers exposures to “North Atlantic hurricane and European windstorm.” Swiss Re noted that this is the fifth time that it “has …

S&P Further Downgrades Ratings of Mariah Re Notes

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it has lowered its rating on Mariah Re Ltd.’s Series 2010-1 notes to ‘CC(sf)’ from ‘CCC(sf)’ and removed the rating from CreditWatch, where it was placed with negative implications on Oct. 4, 2011. …

Swiss Re Study Forecasts ‘Continued Growth’ for Insurance Linked Securities

According to Swiss Re’s study – “The fundamentals of insurance-linked securities” – some 15 years after they were introduced, the “market for insurance-linked securities (ILS) is poised for continued growth as re/insurers, governments and corporations continue to access capital market …

Investors Placed Their Bets On Hurricane Irene

While people in New York and the rest of the U.S. East Coast on Friday were buying batteries and water ahead of Hurricane Irene, some investors were more focused on placing their bets just in case this really is “the …

EQECAT Models $260 Mn Windstorm Risk Cat Bond for French Nat’l Power Co.

Oakland-based catastrophe modeling firm EQECAT has provided risk modeling services to Electricité Réseau Distribution France S.A. (ERDF) for the issuance of a €150 million [$216 million] catastrophe bond transferring European windstorm risk to the capital markets. ERDF is the largest …

Willis’ ILS Report Sees Increased Investor Interest in Cat Bonds

A new report from Willis ILS – Investors Eager for Cat Bonds Following Light Second Quarter Issuance – concludes that, despite, or perhaps due to the catastrophes experienced during the first quarter of 2011, investors are showing renewed and increasing …

S&P Downgrades 6 Cat Bonds; Removes 10 from Negative CreditWatch

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services today has removed its ratings on 10 natural peril catastrophe bonds from CreditWatch with negative implications. S&P also said it has lowered its “ratings on six of the bonds and affirmed our ratings on four” …

S&P Downgrades Mariah Re’s Notes to ‘CCC+(sf)’; CreditWatch Developing

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has lowered its rating on Mariah Re Ltd.’s Series 2010-1 notes to ‘CCC+(sf)’ from ‘B(sf)’. S&P has also revised the CreditWatch status of the rating on the notes to developing from negative. “We placed the …

New Zealand Quakes Drive Insurance Market Changes

A string of earthquakes in New Zealand is sending tremors through the global insurance market with some companies delaying underwriting policies and others turning to capital markets to offset the risk of pile-on damage and costly claims. “Although there has …

Ratings Recap: PartnerRe (notes), Mariah Re (notes), Montana Re (notes)

A.M. Best Co. has assigned a debt rating of “bbb” to the $325 million 7.25 percent Series E cumulative preferred shares of Bermuda-base PartnerRe, Ltd. ,with a stable outlook. The proceeds from the issuance will be used by PartnerRe for …