ILS

Third-party syndicate manager Asta Managing Agency has received approval to set up and manage a new Lloyd's Syndicate 2357 backed by Nephila Capital

Fitch Ratings does not expect Bermuda to experience another sizeable wave of start-up (re)insurers after a major disaster event, the agency said in a new report on the island's reinsurance market.

The new Wexcess UK weather product is targeted at risks that an insurer would otherwise retain as an alternative to aggregate catastrophe reinsurance, said the product's broker Aon Benfield.

US regional carrier The Cincinnati Insurance Companies completed its first reinsurance deal with capital market providers with the $61.2mn Skyline Re private cat bond, sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.

The final senior member of the Benfield Advisory team that was merged into Aon Capital Markets in 2008 has left the reinsurance broker with the departure of Scott Maries to JP Morgan.

Fund manager Nephila Capital had been seeking a valuation of around 10 times its earnings in a formal sales process that concluded last week after it struck a deal with the legendary buy-out firm KKR.

AM Best has affirmed the A- financial strength rating of Third Point Re (TP Re) as it delivered a positive verdict on the Bermudian reinsurer's first year in operation.

Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) has acquired a 24.9 percent stake in Nephila, the leading insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager with almost $8bn in assets under management (AuM)

Catco has held its Sandy loss forecast steady after PCS increased its loss estimate for the event to $18.75bn

The new $150mn Vitality Re securitisation for US health insurer Aetna was oversubscribed by three-to-four times, sources said, giving a clear signal of strong excess demand for diversifying cat bonds.

Intermediaries expect 2013 to be a relatively stable year for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with an average forecast of circa $6bn in annual issuance.

The newly listed Blue Capital Global Reinsurance Fund deployed $57mn of capital in the January reinsurance renewals, making up 58 percent of its net IPO proceeds, according to a 15 January statement...