ILS

Asia Pacific reinsurance start-up Peak Re was met with "overwhelming demand" when the $550mn entity started underwriting ahead of the 1 January renewals, its founders told The Insurance Insider

Back in the infancy of the catastrophe bond marketplace, many (re)insurance practitioners gave a cautious welcome to the new capacity being brought to bear on their tightest cat markets…

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 statement released today (15 January).

Everest Re has become the latest reinsurer to step into the third party managed capital space with the formation of a Bermudian sidecar-style vehicle Mt Logan Re, Ltd which is targeting launch capacity of $250mn

AlphaCat Managers, the investment advisory arm for Bermudian reinsurer Validus, has raised an additional $404.4mn of third-party capital for investment in a new sidecar and, for the first time, insurance-linked securities (ILS)

Listed retrocession provider Catco has written off its remaining exposure to the Costa Concordia cruise ship sinking after the International Group of protection and indemnity insurers increased its loss estimate for liability claims from the disaster to $744mn, as reported by The Insurance Insider last December.

Argo Group has set up its first sidecar for the 2013 accident year, Harambee Re 2013-1

Convergence pioneer RenaissanceRe has written $185mn of collateralised limit through Upsilon Re II, the latest incarnation of its retro sidecar.

The New Year has brought strong activity in the third party-managed fund sector as RenaissanceRe deployed capacity from another new sidecar and Montpelier Re's Blue Capital structure came on stream in time for an active 1 January.

Zurich America Insurance Company's latest Lakeside III issuance upscaled from $225mn to $270mn at the end of December.

Total new cat bond issuance in 2012 hit $6.3bn, the highest level since 2007, while total bonds outstanding in the market reached a new record of $16.5bn of limit at year-end.

Total 2012 cat bond issuance has surged through the $6bn barrier as more details emerge on American International Group (AIG)'s $400mn Compass Re (2012-1) bond