Achmea gets 25% larger Windmill II Re cat bond at 11% reduction in pricing

European insurance group Achmea has successfully priced its new  Windmill II Re DAC (2020) catastrophe bond transaction at the 25% upsized target of EUR 100 million and with the coupon pricing reduced by 11% over the course of the deal’s marketing. Netherlands headquartered primary insurance group Achmea returned to the catastrophe bond market at the…

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Nayms aims to enhance liquidity by linking ILS contracts to digital assets

Smart contract focused insurtech start-up Nayms believes it can help the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market become more liquid, by representing ILS contracts in tradable digital assets so investors can move in and out of positions more easily. Nayms Ecosystems Limited’s goal is to create, “smart contract powered platform that allows insurance entities to create fully…

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Union Bancaire Privée to distribute SCOR IP cat bond funds in Australia

Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), one of the largest private banks in Switzerland, has announced a strategic partnership and opening of a branch in Australia that will ultimately see catastrophe bond funds managed by SCOR Investment Partners distributed in the country. Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) is a specialist in wealth management for both private and institutional…

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Nephila & Allianz in proxy revenue swap for Escalade wind farm in Texas

Nephila Capital, the largest insurance and reinsurance linked fund manager and global insurer Allianz have collaborated again to provide a proxy revenue swap to help reduce financing risk for those funding the 336 MW Escalade wind farm project in Texas. Through its specialist climate and weather focused underwriting, risk transfer and investment unit Nephila Climate,…

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Swiss Re & Tata AIG collaborate on parametric monsoon cover in India

Global reinsurance giant Swiss Re has collaborated with Indian primary insurance carrier Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited to provide a parametric monsoon coverage for India’s northeastern state of Nagaland. Working with the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), Swiss Re will provide the reinsurance capacity to support a parametric excess rainfall insurance product to…

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Modern Building Codes Would Prevent Billions In Catastrophe Losses

A new study by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could be instrumental to its effort to persuade states and localities to adopt up-to-date building codes.  The study, titled Building Codes Save: A Nationwide Study of Loss Prevention, quantifies the physical and economic losses associated with flooding, hurricanes, and earthquakes that have been avoided due to buildings being constructed according to modern, hazard-resistant building codes…

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Senate Panel Meets On COVID-19 Fraud

The Senate Judiciary Committee last week held a  hearing  titled “COVID-19 Fraud: Law Enforcement’s Response to Those Exploiting the Pandemic.”    The hearing included testimony by William Hughes, associate deputy attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice; Craig Carpenito, U.S. attorney, District of New Jersey; Calvin Shivers, assistant director, Criminal Investigative Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Michael D’Ambrosio,…

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High cat bond yields not the new-normal: John Seo, Fermat

Elevated catastrophe bond yields that are a result of investor demand for higher returns following heavy loss years and Covid-19-induced market disruption, “cannot be called the new normal,” according to John Seo of Fermat Capital Management, LLC. Prior to the pandemic, insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors and funds were already demanding higher returns after a spate…

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