insurance linked securities (ILS) News

Soft Rates Begin to Hit Results – But Pain Continues at Mid-Year Renewals: Willis Re

Despite the deterioration many reinsurers saw in the first quarter, mid-year renewals continued their downward pricing trajectory, according to Willis Re in a recent report. Indeed, underlying loss and expense ratios for many reinsurers are showing a worrying trend of …

Validus ILS Unit AlphaCat Names AQR’s Van der Stichele as Portfolio Manager

AlphaCat Managers Ltd., the Bermuda-based subsidiary of Validus Holdings Ltd., announced the appointment of Bernard Van der Stichele to the position of portfolio manager for AlphaCat. In this new role, Van der Stichele will report to Lixin Zeng, chief executive …

Excess Capacity Continues to Drive Rate Cuts at June Renewals: JLT Re Report

Reinsurance rates fell for the sixth consecutive year at the June 1, 2017 renewals, according to a market commentary published by JLT Re. JLT Re cited its Risk-Adjusted Florida Property-Catastrophe (ROL) Index which fell by 5.1 percent this year. This …

Cat Bond Issuance Saw Robust Start to 2017: Aon Benfield

Catastrophe bond issuance made a robust start during the first quarter of 2017 with seven catastrophe bond transactions that totaled US$2.17 billion, according to a report from Aon Securities, the re/insurance investment banking division of Aon Benfield. These transactions are …

ILS Market Continues Growth Trend in Q1 2017: Willis Towers Watson

Non-life insurance-linked securities (ILS) capital grew again in Q1 2017, continuing the trend from 2016, according to the latest ILS Market Update from Willis Towers Watson Securities, the investment banking business of Willis Towers Watson. Following a strong Q4 2016, …

Cayman Islands Issues 39 Insurer Licenses in 2016

The Cayman Islands Insurance Industry saw a “buoyant” start to 2017, with eight new insurer licenses issued in the first quarter, which followed a strong year in 2016 when 39 insurer licenses were issued, said the Insurance Managers Association of …

April 1 Renewals Saw ‘Disciplined Softening’ with Ample Capacity: Aon & Willis Re

With abundant capacity, aggressive capital market competition and acceptable returns for global reinsurers, it’s no wonder that the elusive bottom of soft market pricing was not evident at the April 1 renewals. During 2016, global reinsurers generated “an acceptable, though …

PERILS Releases Updated Exposure Database

PERILS AG, the independent Zurich-based company that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has released the 2017 update of the PERILS Industry Exposure Database (IED). The updated database is composed of more than 200,000 individual data entries defining property sums insured …

Experience Is Everything for Krefta, CEO-in-Waiting at Hiscox Re & ILS

When someone gets to be a CEO at the age of 36, perhaps it’s a good idea to listen to his story about how he got there and some of the lessons he’s learned. From his current position as chief …

Confusing, Costly Cyber Policies Create Obstacles to Market Growth: Deloitte

Despite the rising profile of cyber risks, buyers have failed to widely embrace cyber coverage. At the same time, insurers generally have remained cautious about writing the coverage on a large scale basis. A recent report published by accounting and …