insurance linked securities (ILS) News

RenaissanceRe Introduces Vermeer, New Reinsurer for U.S. Catastrophe Market

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM announced they have launched Vermeer Reinsurance Ltd. to provide capacity focused on risk remote layers in the U.S. property catastrophe market. PGGM is a Dutch pension fund service provider with €215 …

Peak Re Launches Asian Reinsurance Sidecar Deal Using Bermuda Special Purpose Insurer

Peak Reinsurance Co., the Hong Kong-based reinsurer, announced it has launched Asia’s first sidecar transaction via a new Bermuda-domiciled special purpose insurer, Lion Rock Re Ltd., to provide collateralized retrocession for part of Peak Re’s global property reinsurance risk portfolio. …

AXA XL Buys 100% of New Ocean to Build Alternative Capital Business

AXA XL’s reinsurance operation has completed the acquisition of all third party ownership interests in its majority-owned asset management affiliate, New Ocean Capital Management Ltd. Financial details of the transaction were not released. New Ocean is now a wholly owned …

Brit Launches Sussex Capital UK to Write Collateralized Reinsurance

Brit Ltd., the specialty insurer and reinsurer, announce the launch of Sussex Capital UK PCC Ltd., a new multi-arrangement insurance special purpose vehicle (MISPV). Sussex Capital UK is the first transformer vehicle to be given permission by the Prudential Regulation …

Insurance Linked Securities’ Issuance Reaches Record $1.6B in Q3: Willis Re

The issuance of non-life insurance linked securities during the third quarter reached a record $1.6 billion, according to a report published by Willis Re. The total exceeds the former Q3 record of $1.4 billion achieved in 2013, and is well …

Neuberger Berman Expands ILS Platform with Purchase of Cartesian Re, Iris Re

Investment manager Neuberger Berman Group has acquired an asset manager and an affiliated reinsurer, which manage funds of more than $1 billion and focus on insurance-linked strategies. New York-based Cartesian Re and its Bermuda affiliate Iris Re were purchased from …

Insurance Linked Securities Move from ‘Alternative’ to Mainstream: WTW Survey

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is here to stay, said a new survey from Willis Towers Watson. End investors, ILS funds, and buyers – the three groups active in ILS – have predominantly weathered 2017 loss activity and accept that …

AGCS Divides Alternative Risk Transfer Team into 2 Units, Led by Boyd and Hohmann

In line with the growing importance of non-traditional insurance solutions for global businesses, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced it is reshaping its Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) business into two new specialist teams. With effect from Nov. 1, 2018, …

Iran Eyes Introduction of Insurance-Linked Securities as Alternative to Reinsurance

Iran is developing a range of new financial products, from Islamic bonds to warrants and insurance-linked securities, in an effort to give local firms more funding options as sanctions put pressure on the economy. The Iranian rial has plunged 70 …

Is the Reinsurance Cycle Dead or Just Dormant? Executives Discuss New Realities

Many reinsurance executives have been left scratching their heads in surprise after last year’s natural catastrophes, which cost a whopping $100 billion but ended up having very little impact on rates. The insurance and reinsurance market isn’t behaving as it …