Alphabet (Google) returns for second cat bond to top up quake cover

Alphabet, Inc., the holding company for tech giant Google and its units, has returned to the catastrophe bond market in very quick succession to add a second $95 million Phoenician Re Ltd. (Series 2020-2) transaction, clearly pleased with the pricing and execution of its first. Alphabet hadonly priced its first catastrophe bond issuance, the Phoenician…

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Resilience Town Hall: Looking Back and Ahead

It’s become commonplace to say COVID-19 has “changed everything” and that we’re now figuring out how to live within “the new normal.” But listening to five experts in yesterday’s Resilience Town Hall, I was repeatedly struck by how much 2020 – with its pandemic and record-breaking hurricanes, wildfires, and civil unrest – has uncovered holes…

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Aggregate cat bond erosion & COVID dent ILS fund returns in October

The average return of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund market was dented in October 2020 by some selling pressure on certain aggregate catastrophe bond positions and reserve setting for potential losses to catastrophe reinsurance programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index the average return of catastrophe bond and insurance-linked…

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AXIS Re hires ILS underwriter Hungenberg from Schroders

AXIS Re, the reinsurance division of global specialty re/insurer AXIS Capital, has announced the hiring of Emilie Hungenberg in Zurich, who’s most recent position had been as a Senior ILS Underwriter with investment manager Schroders. Hungenberg worked for Schroders for more than two years, underwriting private insurance-linked securities (ILS) transactions and collateralised reinsurance from the…

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Turker Re launches Capital Solutions unit & Turkey quake ILW product

Turker Re, a Lloyd’s broker with a significant insurance and reinsurance broking footprint in the Turkish marketplace and surrounding region, has launched a new product offering of a Turkey earthquake industry loss warranty (ILW) as the first under a new Capital Solutions unit. The broker hopes to create a new market category for insurance, reinsurance…

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Ardonagh gets ILS servicing expertise, as Geo acquires Robus

Ardonagh Group, the largest independent insurance broking, underwriting, servicing and management company in the UK, has now added insurance-linked securities (ILS) servicing and management to its range of offerings, as its managing general agent Geo Underwriting has acquired insurance manager Robus Group. Management, fiduciary and financial advisory group Robus provides a range of services, across…

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Conduit Re prices IPO, targets “exceptional market conditions”

Conduit Re, the pure reinsurance start-up targeting a $1.1 billion initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange and set to begin operations in Bermuda, has now priced its IPO and looks forward to targeting what it calls “exceptional market conditions” for its launch. Conduit has now completed the bookbuilding process, in relation to…

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Liberty Mutual sponsoring first cat bond since 2012, with $200m Mystic Re IV

Insurance giant Liberty Mutual has returned to the catastrophe bond market for the first time since 2012, as the company seeks a $200 million source of catastrophe reinsurance from the capital markets by sponsoring a Mystic Re IV Ltd. (Series 2021-1) transaction. Not only is this Liberty Mutual’s first catastrophe bond in eight years, its…

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