insurance linked securities (ILS) News

Bermuda Market Associations Allay Fears of Brexit Contagion

Four leaders of Bermuda market groups quickly issued statements last week to allay any fears that the fallout from the UK’s Brexit vote would hit their market as well. “In a global economy, Bermuda is affected, like other nations, by …

London Re/Insurance Market Will Weather Brexit Storm: Execs

Brexit has created great uncertainty for the UK, the European Union and perhaps the world. Pretty much everyone agrees on that. But there is less agreement about how an EU exit will affect London’s financial center. Some are very gloomy …

Persistent Soft Market Begins to Hit Reinsurer Stock Prices: A.M. Best

While global reinsurers are continuing to withstand challenging market conditions, their stock prices, on average, are starting to take a hit as a result of the persistent soft market and its negative effect on top line growth, according to a …

Allianz Expects Blockchain Tech to Expedite Cat Bond Deals

German insurer Allianz expects the technology underpinning virtual currency bitcoin to encourage trading in catastrophe bonds, which transfer the risk of natural disasters such as hurricanes to investors. “Cat bond” payments between insurers and investors can take weeks or even …

Ongoing Soft Market Tops Reinsurers’ Concerns: Xuber Survey

Soft market conditions continue to be the biggest concern for the industry, followed by regulation, competition from third party capital, low investment returns, cyber crime and maintaining underwriting discipline, according to a survey completed by Xuber, the insurance software business …

XL Catlin Launches Team to Focus on Alternative Risk Transfer Products

XL Catlin’s insurance operations has launched a new team to focus on alternative risk transfer and non-traditional insurance globally. The team, named Structured Risk Solutions (SRS), is a dedicated global underwriting unit charged with providing XL Catlin’s clients with customized …

Reinsurance Rates Continued Stabilization Trend at June Renewal; Florida Down Just 3.1%: JLT

Reinsurance rate declines continued to slow at the June 1 renewal, reaffirming a trend of gradual price stabilization that first emerged during last year’s June renewal season, according to reinsurance brokerage JLT Re. JLT Re’s index for Florida property catastrophe …

Credit Suisse Sells Operational Risk Bonds, Insuring Rogue Trading, Cyber Crime

Credit Suisse Group AG sold 220 million Swiss francs ($222 million) of bonds designed to offload potential losses on events like rogue trading, with some investors sidestepping the issue because of the incalculable risk. The second-largest Swiss lender initially planned …

Swiss Re Capital Markets Appoints Klugman & Monnier to Lead Global ILS Unit

Swiss Re announced that Judy Klugman and Jean-Louis Monnier will co-head its global insurance linked securities (ILS) business. Klugman will remain global head of ILS distribution and lead the ILS team in New York. She has been with Swiss Re …

Willis Capital Markets & Advisory Appoints Lien as Managing Director, Hong Kong

Willis Towers Watson has appointed Vincent Lien as managing director of Hong Kong for Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), the firm’s investment banking business. Reporting to WCMA co-CEOs, Michael Guo and Rafal Walkiewicz, Lien will be based in Hong …