ILS

Despite the surfeit of capital, paucity of cat losses and increasing pressure on pricing, Bermudian (re)insurers were cautious in returning capital to shareholders during the first quarter of 2014

Florida cat bond Sanders Re (2014-2) will provide Allstate subsidiary Castle Key with indemnity protection for losses from all natural perils.

USAA's US multi-peril bond Residential Re (2014-1) will close in the middle of its initial target range of $100mn-$150mn at $130mn.

A quartet of cat bonds closed at the end of last week, raising their sponsors a total of almost $730mn in protection against Japanese, US and Florida-specific risks.

UK insurer Saga's IPO was lukewarm late last week and so was the Floridian insurer Heritage Insurance Holdings, which raised just $66mn from its IPO on the NYSE as pricing of its shares came in below expectations

Swiss Re has handed capital back to investors in Sector Re after a brief expansion of the sidecar in 2013.

Independent broker and managing general agent BMS agreed on 21 May to sell a minority shareholding to US buyout firm Capital Z for $50.7mn, giving it capital to finance its growth plans and purchase stock from former employees.

Former Alterra reinsurance chairman Tom Wafer and fund manager Golub Capital are working on a reinsurance start-up, in fresh evidence that broad-based softening of the reinsurance markets is not deterring alternative asset managers

Former Alterra reinsurance chairman Tom Wafer is working on a reinsurance start-up with fund manager Golub Capital, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Softening market conditions pressured top-line growth for global P&C reinsurers in the first quarter of 2014, according to analysis by The Insurance Insider's Data Room.

Global reinsurers' underwriting performance deteriorated modestly in the first three months of 2014, as combined ratios across the group widened following a period of softening rates

Two Japanese insurers have launched new low-yielding cat bonds, while veteran ILS sponsor USAA is offering prospective investors a higher risk-return aggregate deal