ILS

French reinsurer Scor has raised $55.5mn for a new retro sidecar as Ace and Argo confirmed the renewal of their own vehicles

Achmea's EUR40mn Windmill I Re edged 2013 cat bond issuance up to a total of $7.64bn

An extreme slide in retro prices is providing property cat reinsurance underwriters with an opportunity to arbitrage their position by buying cheap cover even as rates are squeezed on their inwards books.

The former Validus Re underwriter Conan Ward comes in to run US insurance business at the Brian Duperreault-led Bermudian reinsurer

Ace has become the second (re)insurer to confirm a sidecar renewal for 2014 as it announced the launch of a second Altair Re sidecar.

Price increases on commercial insurance business in the US showed further signs of slowing in December led by large account business, according to the latest MarketScout barometer.

Argo Group has renewed its Harambee Re sidecar for 2014 at a larger size than last year, the reinsurer said today (6 January).

Bermudian (re)insurer Arch has announced the launch of a newly formed multi-line reinsurance company Watford Re in partnership with Highbridge Capital Management, confirming a move first reported by The Insurance Insider last July.

Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, the London-listed ILS and collateralised reinsurance investment vehicle, plans to make a one-off payment of $0.20 per share to its investors after a lack of major claims boosted its finances last year, it said in a statement this morning (3 January).

Traditional reinsurers are being forced to compete more aggressively because of the growing influence of alternative capital in the market, Willis Re International chairman James Vickers told The Insurance Insider.

A EUR40mn private cat bond Windmill I Re (2013-1) has listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), according to listing documents posted 23 December.

The World Bank has provided the Uruguayan state-owned hydro-electric power company with a $450mn weather and oil price insurance cover, and has reinsured the risk with Swiss Re and Nephila Capital through the latter's partnership with fronting reinsurer Allianz.