Puerto Rico gets $282m parametric cover. Says cat bond “opened door” to capital market
The Government of Puerto Rico’s Autoridad de Asesoría Financiera y Agencia Fiscal (Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority) has secured $282 million of parametric disaster insurance cover, with the recent $85 million Puerto Rico Parametric Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond seen as a key component that opens the door to the capital markets. Puerto Rico […]
Catastrophe bond issuance in 2024 hits $12.1bn, running 29% ahead of prior year
Catastrophe bond new issuance continues apace in 2024 and has reached $12.1 billion including the latest deals to hit the market and settle today, which means the pace of issuance is now running 29% ahead of the prior year, according to the latest data from Artemis. That rate of issuance is particularly notable, especially as […]
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) lifts ILS investments 40% in 2023
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), a large Canadian institutional retirement fund, put additional capital into insurance-linked securities (ILS) in 2023, lifting its investments in the space above US $1 billion for the first time and growing them over 40% year-on-year. A year ago, HOOPP’s annual report showed that the pensions insurance and reinsurance […]
ARC gets Dutch Gov support to make parametric insurance more accessible in Africa
African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.), the financial affiliate and parametric insurance underwriting entity of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, has received a $27 million contribution from the Dutch government to help in boosting climate resilience in Africa. The Netherlands has now become the sixth contributor to the African Development Bank’s Africa Disaster Risk […]
UAE flooding property insurance loss seen up to US $2.3bn by Gallagher Re
Demonstrating that large industry loss events from severe weather are possible in the Arabian Gulf region, reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has estimated that the property market insured loss from the recent flooding that affected the United Arab Emirates in April will be between US $1.8 billion and $2.3 billion. That’s not the total insurance market […]
Cat bond market in a healthy position with higher-for-longer collateral returns: Plenum
With catastrophe bond issuance so far in 2024 outpacing prior years and supply and demand dynamics contributing to an increase in spreads in recent weeks, Dirk Schmelzer, Managing Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Plenum Investments, the Zurich-headquartered manager of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and related assets, feels the market is in a very healthy and […]
Puerto Rico Parametric Re cat bond grows to $85m, price set to mid-point
The government of Puerto Rico’s first attempt to source parametric insurance from the capital markets through a catastrophe bond appears to have been well-received by the market, as the Puerto Rico Parametric Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond has grown to $85 million in size and looks set to price at the mid-point of guidance, Artemis […]
Reinsurance & third-party capital are key growth levers for insurers: Aon
After capital buffers were eroded for insurers in 2023, a renewed focus on reinsurance as a capital management and growth lever has emerged, while broker Aon says that reinsurance capital and third-party capital are expected to be two of the three main capital tools utilised in future. Aon polls insurers on their use of capital […]
UCITS cat bond fund assets near $12.2bn, up more than 11% YTD
The combined assets under management of the main catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have now surpassed $12 billion for the first time ever, nearing $12.2 billion by the end of May 2024 and now having risen by over 11% so far this year. Catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have experienced strong […]
Major solar storm could drive bigger insured loss than Katrina: Bloomberg
Analysis from Bloomberg Intelligence suggests participants in the insurance and reinsurance industry should be seriously considering how they protect themselves against the risks of losses from major solar storms, with the peril having the potential to be as costly as major hurricanes. “A major space storm could cost insurers even more than a hurricane like […]