Investments

Japanese insurance and reinsurance giant Sompo has returned to the catastrophe bond market to sponsor its first issuance in four years, as it seeks a $200 million source of Japanese and US multi-peril catastrophe reinsurance with a Sakura Re Ltd. (Series 2021-1)  deal. Sompo has sponsored a number of catastrophe bonds in the past, with…

Private equity specialist Apollo Global and life and retirement reinsurance company Athene Holding Ltd. are set to merge, in a transaction that values the latter at $11 billion and the combined company at $29 billion, underscoring the attractive combination that is investing alongside life and annuity reinsurance premium float accumulation. In an all-stock merger transaction,…

Florida headquartered Security First Insurance Company is now set for its largest catastrophe bond transaction yet, as its new First Coast Re III Pte. Ltd. (Series 2021-1) issuance has more than doubled in size to $225 million while being marketed. At the same time the pricing on Security First’s second catastrophe bond has come in…

Global reinsurance giant Munich Re has named a new Managing Director for its activities in Australasia, promoting former head of Non-Life Scott Hawkins to the role. Hawkins has worked for Munich Re in Australia since 2005 and for the last six years has led Non-Life reinsurance operations in the region for the company. As Managing…

After seeing their prices drop significantly in the wake of the US winter storms and severe freezing weather, many of the exposed aggregate catastrophe bond tranches have now experienced a meaningful price recovery in the latest cat bond secondary market price sheets. As we explained last week, a number of winter storm exposed aggregate catastrophe…

Hong Kong’s proposed insurance-linked securities (ILS) grant scheme, that will pay a share of issuance costs for catastrophe bond sponsors electing to use the domicile once its ILS regulatory regime is ready, is seen as an initiative to enhance the development of the local marketplace and could result in a first transaction being issued this…