LA wildfires trigger cat bond market’s first-ever negative January return: Icosa
Recent estimates suggest that insured losses from the Los Angeles, California wildfires could be higher than anticipated. As a result, catastrophe bond prices are showing signs of weakness, with the market’s benchmark recording its first-ever negative January return since its inception over two decades ago, according to cat bond fund manager Icosa Investments AG. With […]
“Breakthrough” parametric ILS fund is “capacity for profitable growth” – GC&C / Descartes
The launch yesterday of the Lumyna – Twelve Capital Parametric ILS Fund, a dedicated parametric insurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment strategy managed by ILS manager Twelve Capital, is a “breakthrough” in the parametric space and provides “capacity for profitable growth”, senior execs at GC&C and Descartes Underwriting said. The Lumyna – Twelve Capital Parametric […]
Transformational expansion of risk transfer to capital markets needed to finance future crises
With a widening crisis protection gap evident around the world there is a need for a transformational expansion in the use of insurance and reinsurance mechanisms to transfer risks to the capital markets, according to a report from the High-Level Panel on Closing the Crisis Protection Gap. The report calls for a tenfold increase in […]
AXCO: Is ILS regulation keeping pace?
The catastrophe bonds (cat bonds) market, the vast majority of the insurance-linked securities (ILS), has experienced substantial growth in recent decades, driven by increased (re)insurer demand for alternative risk transfer solutions and investor appetite to diversify their investment portfolios. According to market statistics, cat bonds issuance increased more than sevenfold between 2003 and 2023. There […]
APCIA CEO joins call for California to issue cat bonds to recapitalise FAIR Plan after fires
The CEO of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) has joined the calls on the California legislature to issue catastrophe bonds in order to recapitalise and stabilise the FAIR Plan in the wake of the damaging wildfire losses of recent weeks. It’s not immediately clear whether this is a call for the cat bond […]
Innovation, new capital required to bridge economic insured loss gap: Case and Marcell, Aon
Greg Case, CEO and Andy Marcell, CEO of Risk Capital at insurance and reinsurance broker Aon, have highlighted that innovation and new alternative sources of capital are required to protect communities and assets, in bridging the gap between economic and insured catastrophe and climate losses. Aon reported today that 2024 insured catastrophe losses reached $145 […]
CEA targets $200m of quake reinsurance with Ursa Re 2025-1 catastrophe bond
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has returned to the catastrophe bond market to sponsor its first issuance since late 2023, seeking $200 million or more in multi-year collateralized California earthquake reinsurance protection from the capital markets through this Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance. The CEA last sponsored a catastrophe bond in December 2023 and in that […]
CEA mulls second-event tower, with potential role for reinsurance / cat bonds
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is discussing the need for either a pre-funded subsequent or second-event funding tower (with risk transfer and reinsurance perhaps a part of it), or the infrastructure for one, that would support its functions after a significant earthquake loss that depletes its claims paying ability. Recognising the very real risk that […]
Alternative capital can provide wildfire capacity, but pricing a sticking point: Morningstar DBRS
With wildfires becoming a more recurring peril for the California property insurance market, alternative capital may be available to provide coverage, including through multiple-peril alternative reinsurance capital instruments, however “pricing is likely to remain a sticking point” according to analysts at Morningstar DBRS. In a new report, Morningstar DBRS has revealed that the on-going wildfires […]
Insurance Authority welcomes Silk Road Re cat bond, sixth under Hong Kong ILS regulations
Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority (IA) has welcomed the recent issuance of the latest and sixth catastrophe bond under its insurance-linked securities (ILS) regulatory regime, saying the US $35 million Silk Road Re Limited cat bond sponsored by Taiping Re reinforces its commitment to the sector. As we’ve been reporting, Taiping Re secured a three-year source of fully-collateralized retrocessional […]