ILS

Canopius has said it is likely to continue to make acquisitions after its own $1bn+ sale to big three Japanese insurer Sompo.

Aon Benfield is billing its initiative to broaden terms on 1 January placements as a proactive measure for reinsurers to secure signings in an increasingly commoditised property cat market, The Insurance Insider understands.

French reinsurer Scor has bought EUR200mn ($272mn) of protection against extreme natural catastrophe and mortality risk in an innovative contingent capital deal with Swiss bank UBS, it said today (23 December).

AIG confirmed it has acquired $400mn of collateralised reinsurance with its second Tradewynd Re catastrophe bond, as the insurance premium on the deal softened significantly from the insurer's first Tradewynd Re deal in July.

Specialty insurer WR Berkley yesterday (18 December) announced its board had authorised a replenishment of its share buyback programme back up to a level of 10 million shares.

Regulators need to supervise the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market to ensure that investors have sufficient expertise to analyse insurance risks, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) said on 12 December.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) will seek board approval today (16 December) to maintain its claims-paying capacity at the same level in 2014 as in 2013, according to meeting agenda documents.

The cat bond market has returned to its pre-financial crisis heights, with 2013 issuance set to reach $7.5bn if all three bonds currently in the pipeline close on target before the end of the year.

Axis has established a new class 3A Bermudian reinsurer, Axis Ventures Re, as well as a management company, Axis Ventures, according to the latest registration statistics from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Three new cat bonds launched in the past week, including two from debut sponsors and a complex deal from Argo that offered direct and facultative risk to the insurance-linked securities market, sister publication Trading Risk reported.

Catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide has said insured losses from European Windstorm Xaver could be as high as EUR1.4bn.

The burgeoning insurance-linked securities (ILS) market needs to be kept under close regulatory scrutiny to ensure it does not threaten the (re)insurance sector's financial stability, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) said today (12 December)