Reinsurers in Cayman Islands set up industry group CIRCA

Cayman Islands based reinsurance companies have established a new industry group called the Cayman International Reinsurance Companies Association (CIRCA), which is expected to help further develop the islands reinsurance sector. Founding reinsurer members of CIRCA include: Aureum Re, Barents Re, CIBC Cayman Reinsurance Ltd., Greenlight Re, Knighthead Annuity & Life Assurance Company, Nassau Re (Cayman)…

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Croatia hit by M6.4 earthquake, strongest recorded to hit the country

Yesterday, Croatia was struck by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that has destroyed many buildings and was the largest quake to strike the country since the introduction of modern seismic instrumentation. The M6.4 earthquake struck central Croatia at 11:19 GMT on Tuesday December 29th at a depth of 10km around 30 miles southeast of the capital…

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German institutional investors to allocate more to ILS in 2021: Survey

Institutional investors in Germany are expected to expand on allocations to asset classes that exhibit lower levels of correlation to financial markets, such as alternatives and other credit specialties, including insurance-linked securities (ILS), a survey found. In its annual investor survey, the Bundesverband Alternative Investments e.V. (BAI), Germany’s association for the alternative investments industry, found…

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Arch Capital names Papadopoulo as President & CUO

Arch Capital, the Bermuda headquartered specialty insurance and reinsurance group, has announced the promotion of Nicolas Papadopoulo to President and Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO) of the Group. In his new role, Papadopoulo will take on oversight and responsibility for Arch Capital’s three core operating segments, its Insurance, Reinsurance and Mortgage underwriting businesses, as well as…

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Litigation Funding Rises as Common-Law Bans Are Eroded by Courts

Litigation funding – the practice of third parties financing lawsuits in exchange for a share of any funds the plaintiffs might receive – was once widely prohibited. As these bans have been eroded in recent decades, the practice has grown, spread, and become a contributor to social inflation: increased insurance payouts and loss ratios beyond…

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Cat bonds set for busy 2021, up to $12bn forecast by broker dealers

Catastrophe bond market activity will remain busy through 2021, with an expectation that issuance could reach as much as $12 billion, so beating the record set this year, as the high number of maturing cat bonds are seen as likely to be renewed and more new sponsors may also be seen. Our regular readers will…

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City National Rochdale ILW fund lifts assets by 13%

City National Rochdale’s largely industry loss warranty (ILW) focused mutual insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment fund increased its total net assets under management to $147.8 million by the end of October, an increase of 13% in the quarter. The City National Rochdale Select Strategies (CNRLX) fund is an interval style mutual fund with a focus on…

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Nephila gets allocation from Blackstone multi-strategy fund

Nephila Capital, the largest dedicated manager of insurance and reinsurance linked securities, has been given an allocation for its sub-advisory role on one of giant asset manager Blackstone Group’s multi-strategy investment funds. Nephila Capital has been a sub-advisor to the Blackstone Alternative Multi-Strategy Fund for a number of years, but hasn’t actually managed an allocation…

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W. R. Berkley raises $250m for Lifson Re P&C reinsurance sidecar

Insurance holding company W. R. Berkley Corporation has launched its first foray into third-party reinsurance capital management with the set-up of a Bermuda based special purpose insurer (ILS) named Lifson Re Ltd. that will act as a kind of P&C reinsurance sidecar structure for the company. Lifson Re Ltd. has been licensed by the Bermuda…

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