Insurance

Our latest video interview is with Niklaus Hilti, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Credit Suisse Insurance Linked Strategies, who kindly joined us to discuss the current status of the ILS investment space and reinsurance market trends. All of our Artemis Live video interviews can be accessed directly from our YouTube Channel and…

European insurer Achmea is aiming to secure slightly lower than anticipated pricing for its new  Windmill II Re DAC (2020) catastrophe bond transaction, with the upsized EUR 100 million deal potentially set to come in with a slightly lower coupon now. Netherlands headquartered Europe-focused insurance group Achmea returned to the catastrophe bond market at the…

The target size for Allianz Risk Transfer’s (ART) new Blue Halo Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond transaction has been lifted again, with the deal now aiming to secure up to $175 million of retrocession for the firm’s portfolio and some of the tail risks related to the ILS fronting it undertakes. Allianz Risk Transfer,…

Catastrophe bonds and peak perils private insurance-linked securities (ILS) are the way forwards for ILS and reinsurance investment manager Twelve Capital, who said today that it aims to take its ILS strategy to the next level with a renewed focus on these market segments. Twelve Capital has been offering clients investment opportunities across the insurance…

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc., the Florida headquartered, nationally expansive U.S. property casualty insurer, has placed its first event reinsurance tower to an exhaustion point of $1.347 billion, which is around 12% lower than the prior year, while spend has increased by more than 9%. Heritage CEO Bruce Lucas cited a “challenging renewal” as his carrier…

Windstorm focused primary insurance carrier Weston Insurance Company has had its rating withdrawn by Demotech, which market sources suggest may be partly down to challenges it faced in filling out its reinsurance tower at the recent renewals. Weston Insurance Company is an admitted carrier, operating in Florida, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina, predominantly writing…

As well as enhancing their returns thanks to rising pricing, insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers are seeking to capitalise on the hardening reinsurance and retrocession market in a number of other ways that could result in their portfolios delivering better returns and becoming less volatile. We’re as guilty as most observers of the market in…

Expectations for further strong rate increases at the July 1st reinsurance renewals are clear, with analysts from KBW explaining that the market is discussing increases of between +5% to +15% for U.S. southeast property catastrophe reinsurance programs, with retrocession rates seen up even more at +20% to +25%. The market has been anticipating the recent…