Swiss Re’s Urs Baertschi calls for stronger collaboration to manage rising nat cat losses
Urs Baertschi, CEO of Property & Casualty Reinsurance at Swiss Re, recently shared his perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing the insurance industry in 2025. Reflecting on his personal aversion to roller coasters, Baertschi compared the highs and lows of amusement rides to the unpredictability of the current risk landscape, noting that “those of […]
Kingdom of Lesotho receives payout under ARC sovereign drought parametric policy
African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC), a specialised agency of the African Union, has issued an insurance payout of $2,767,958 to the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, after its sovereign drought insurance policy for the 2024/25 agricultural season was triggered. This payout was made possible by the Government’s subscription to ARC’s sovereign risk financing mechanism […]
Alternative capital hits $121bn record high. Cat bonds and sidecars the key growth drivers: Aon
The amount of alternative capital in reinsurance supplied by insurance-linked securities (ILS) strategies and structures has reached a new high of $121 billion as of the middle of 2025, which Aon Securities notes was driven by strong catastrophe bond growth and supported by ongoing expansion of the sidecar sector as well. Aon Securities, the specialist […]
Moody’s Ratings develops new methodology for rating catastrophe bonds & ILS
Following its recent publication of a discussion paper on rating insurance-linked securities (ILS), with a focus on catastrophe bonds, Moody’s Ratings has moved forward and developed a new methodology for rating cat bonds and other ILS and is now seeking final feedback before its implementation. Moody’s Ratings published its discussion paper on insurance-linked securities (ILS) […]
Risk management, tech, maturing ILS partnerships subdue the reinsurance cycle: AM Best
The reinsurance market cycle has become more subdued thanks to sound risk management practices, strategic use of technology and a maturing partnership with alternative capital (ILS), according to rating agency AM Best. Commenting this morning on the fact reinsurance firms met their costs of capital for the second year in a row in 2024, AM […]
Strong alternative reinsurance capital market growth to persist into 2026: Fitch
The recent growth trend in the alternative reinsurance capital market is forecast to persist into 2026, as supply of capital from investors and demand from sponsors seeking risk transfer remain robust, Fitch Ratings has said. The rating agency also notes how alternative capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market growth has resumed in sidecars as well […]
Cat bond defaults stay low at 2.3% across rated and non-rated issues: S&P
As per S&P Global Ratings, despite several catastrophe bonds defaulting following record-high insured losses from the California wildfires in early 2025 and through recent catastrophe years, the default rate across both rated and non-rated catastrophe bonds remains very low at just 2.3%. The rating agency recently published a new report that provides insights from historical […]
All indications point to continued catastrophe bond market growth: AM Best
Record levels of catastrophe bond market issuance in 2025 are reshaping the pricing landscape, AM Best believes, but the rating agency sees no sign of a slow-down ahead, as “all indications point to continued growth.” Insurance-linked securities (ILS) market capacity is at an all-time high and projected to end 2025 by having grown to around US […]
Cat bonds offer advantages over taxation for tackling rising disaster costs: OECD
A recent paper authored by Kensuke Molnar-Tanaka, OECD Development Centre and Hiroaki Sakamoto, Kobe University, explores how catastrophe bonds are being viewed as being more advantageous compared to taxation, when it comes to tackling the increasing rise in costs related to global natural catastrophe events. The study, titled “Financing the costs of disasters: Catastrophe bonds or […]
Alt capital & ILS an ‘increasingly important’ component of property cat reinsurance: Berenberg
According to equity analysts from Berenberg, alternative capital and insurance-linked securities instruments have become an increasingly important component of property catastrophe reinsurance limit, notably in the United States as cedants see value in diversified sourced capital. As the annual Monte Carlo reinsurance Rendezvous event in September nears, it’s safe to assume that property catastrophe risk […]