Covid & riots lift W. R. Berkley’s Q2 losses above estimates

The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and costs from the riots and civil unrest in the U.S. have lifted insurance carrier W. R. Berkley’s second-quarter loss burden well above estimates. W. R. Berkley reported an estimated $145 million pre-tax catastrophe loss burden for the second-quarter of 2020. The largest driver of these losses is the…

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Universal says weather losses go over budget in Q2

Universal Insurance Holdings, the Florida headquartered and expansive primary insurance carrier, has reported suffering above budget losses due to severe weather in the second-quarter of 2020. The carrier reported on Friday that weather related catastrophe events caused it $17 million pre-tax (approximately $12.8 million, after-tax) of losses, after taking into account reinsurance recoveries. As a…

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Liberty Mutual in $100m Limestone Re 2020-2 reinsurance sidecar issuance

U.S. primary insurer and global re/insurer Liberty Mutual has successfully closed on another collateralised reinsurance sidecar placement for 2020, with a $100 million of notes issued by its Limestone Re Ltd. sidecar. Liberty Mutual has been accessing the appetite of insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds and capital market investors to support its growing Limestone Re Ltd.…

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Convex secures $300m of reinsurance from Hypatia Re cat bond

Convex Group, the specialty insurance and reinsurance company founded by Stephen Catlin, has successfully secured $300 million of reinsurance from the capital markets through its first ever catastrophe bond issuance, the Hypatia Ltd. (Series 2020-1) multi-peril retro transaction. Convex’s first catastrophe bond appears to have been particularly well-received, becoming one of the only transactions to…

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Best of Artemis, week ending 12th July 2020

Here are the ten most popular news articles, week ending 12th July 2020, covering catastrophe bonds, ILS, reinsurance capital and related risk transfer topics. To ensure you never miss a thing subscribe to the weekly Artemis email newsletter updates or get our email alerts for every article we publish. Register here to watch all of…

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Mangroves and Reefs: Insurance Can Help Protect Our Protectors

Hurricanes and storm-related flooding are responsible for the bulk of damage from disasters in the United States, accounting for annual economic losses of about $54 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).   These losses have been on the rise, due, in large part, to increased coastal development. More, bigger homes, more valuables inside them, more cars and infrastructure – these all…

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Asia, a key part of the ILS market & interest is growing: ILS Asia 2020

The Asia Pacific region has become a key component of the global insurance-linked securities (ILS) marketplace and interest from cedants and issuers continues to surge, according to industry experts. Speaking yesterday during the opening day of the virtually held Artemis ILS Asia 2020 conference, ILS market executives and experts explored the region’s growing prominence in…

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Guernsey wants green ESG kitemark option for its ILS structures

The domicile island of Guernsey wants to make available a green kitemark for insurance-linked securities (ILS) structures transacted there, enabling ILS issuers to apply for the ability to verify the environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials of an arrangement. The question of the ILS markets ESG credentials is a hot topic right now, with the…

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Pandemic may accelerate the ILS investor flight to quality

There is every chance that the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market continues to experience a flight to quality, when it comes to where investor allocations are made and this could accelerate in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, as there is now another factor against which investors can measure ILS fund managers. We’d suggest this doesn’t…

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