QBE now sees alternative capital as important lever for sustainable returns: CEO & CFO
QBE, the global re/insurer, sees alternative reinsurance capital as an important lever to allow the company to deliver sustainable returns in the mid-teens, according to its CEO Andrew Horton and CFO Chris Killourhy, with recent catastrophe bond and casualty sidecar initiatives seen as early deals to help in building a profile within ILS markets. It’s […]
CA FAIR Plan lifts target 75% to $350m for second Golden Bear Re wildfire cat bond
The California FAIR Plan Association is looking to upsize its second catastrophe bond sponsorship by 75%, with now $350 million of capital markets backed wildfire reinsurance protection sought from the Golden Bear Re Ltd. (Series 2026-2) cat bond issuance, Artemis has learned. The California FAIR Plan Association returned to the catastrophe bond market for its second sponsorship earlier […]
L&G to maintain exposure to catastrophe bonds despite spread tightening
Despite tighter spreads in the catastrophe bond market, Legal & General (L&G) intends to maintain its exposure to the asset class, with Alex Turner, Fund Manager Assistant, and Martin Dietz, Head of Diversified Strategies, noting the firm is prioritising portfolio integrity while awaiting more favourable entry points, rather than rotating out of the space. Legal […]
Cyber ILS still an effective alternative capital solution for large-scale, systemic risk: S&P
While 2025 was a quieter year for the cyber insurance-linked securities (ILS) space, S&P Global Ratings emphasised that the market still remains an effective alternative capital solution that offers insurers an effective way to transfer large-scale, systemic cyber risk to the capital markets. In a recent report published by the rating agency, analysts acknowledge that […]
Discipline, education, transparency, trust all key as ILS continues to grow & evolve: ILS NYC 2026
As the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities market looks to build on its recent strong performance and capitalise on opportunities that are being presented, the need for the sector to do so in a sustainable way came into focus at our ILS NYC 2026 conference held in New York last Friday. We held our Artemis ILS NYC 2026 […]
Inflows, low losses created “environment of high demand for ILS” in 2025: Monnier, Swiss Re
The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is coming off a remarkable year, bolstered by record catastrophe bond issuance. According to Jean-Louis Monnier, Head of ILS at Swiss Re Capital Markets the momentum was driven by a mix of significant capital inflows and low market losses, which has ultimately helped create a high demand environment for ILS. […]
Florida State pension invests $200m in Tangency Q/S fund, $200m in Nephila specialty vehicle
The Florida State Board of Administration has further diversified its insurance-linked securities (ILS) allocations made on behalf of the Florida Retirement System Pension Plan, with $400 million invested across a quota share reinsurance strategy managed by Tangency Capital and a specialty lines opportunity managed by Nephila Capital. We had previously suggested that these two specialist insurance-linked […]
NCIUA seeks $400m Cape Lookout Re 2026-1 cat bond, its second with resilience feature
The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) is back in the catastrophe bond market with an initial target to secure $400 million of annual aggregate named storm reinsurance protection from a new Cape Lookout Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) issuance, which will be its second with an embedded resilience bond feature, Artemis can report. A year ago, the […]
ILS as a key source of reinsurance capital is only going to continue: Schwebach, Gallagher Re
Adam Schwebach of reinsurance broker Gallagher Re is expecting more new cedents to enter the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market in 2026, describing it as a product that can no longer be ignored for catastrophe risk. Artemis recently spoke with Schwebach, Head of North America Property at Gallagher Re, about reinsurance supply demand dynamics in Florida, […]
Cat bonds now “structural anchors”. Investors look to long-term ILS allocations: HCMA
Catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities became increasingly embedded in reinsurance programmes in 2025, a trend set to continue as investors increasingly look to long-term allocations to the asset class, executives from Howden Capital Markets & Advisory (HCMA) have explained. Reflecting on a busy year for cat bonds and ILS in 2025, HCMA explained that, “Investor appetite […]