ILS

Despite Willis announcing the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) and Hiscox plc as two of the first three carriers for follow-form facility Willis Global 360 in October, neither has signed up to the initiative to date, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

Bermudian insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager Nephila Capital increased its assets under management by a quarter to $10bn in 2013, its private equity backer KKR's fourth quarter results have shown.

The insurance linked securities (ILS) market owes its rapid growth to rock-bottom interest rates in the US, and faces a slowdown once borrowing costs rise again, according to Denis Kessler, chief executive of French reinsurer Scor.

The fixation on the impact of insurance-linked securities (ILS) on the reinsurance market has distracted attention from significant changes in reinsurance buying behaviour that were already underway, Willis Re CEO John Cavanagh has said

Montpelier Re-backed investment fund Blue Capital Re has revealed the make-up of its portfolio after deploying $144mn of capital in the property cat reinsurance market during the January 2014 renewals, representing 90 percent of the total capital it expects to deploy in 2014.

Swan Re, a class 3A Bermudian reinsurer backed by US hedge fund manager Swan Wealth Advisors (SWA), has been formally launched on the island today (5 February) and is seeking equity funding.

Validus's ILS manager has increased its total assets under management from $1.238bn in July 2013 to $1.3bn in January

Premium Lloyd's carrier plans to lay off more risk as cat rates come under pressure...

ILS investors will need to respond flexibly to a competitive pushback from traditional reinsurers if they are to continue growing their share of the $20bn+ property cat reinsurance market

Despite all the scare talk and column inches the ILS market is not yet truly mainstream, according to Validus Re CEO Ed Noonan

London-listed insurance-linked securities fund DCG Iris reported a total return of 2.2 percent in the six months to 30 November 2013, as the fund's manager said that it had boosted results by shifting into private reinsurance deals and reducing its cat bond holdings

US regional carrier The Cincinnati Insurance Companies has significantly increased the size of its Skyline Re cat bond cover to $100mn from $61.2mn last year