ILS

Is the traditional, mono-balance sheet reinsurance model dying out? The answer is yes, if you believe the likes of Lancashire, RenRe and Validus...

London-listed insurer Lancashire says its new $250mn special purpose vehicle, Saltire Re, will be one of the first vehicles to transfer non-catastrophe risks to capital markets investors.

Lancashire Group will launch a new $250mn collateralised sidecar-style vehicle for the 1 January renewals

Listed retrocession provider Catco says its 2012 returns could be reduced by up to 10-15 percent net if insured industry losses from Hurricane Sandy reach around $15bn.

Industry loss warranty (ILW) limits of between $50mn and $100mn could be on the line for a north-eastern US contract placed at a $10bn industry loss trigger, sister publication Trading Risk has reported.

The Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Price Index dropped by 2.5 percent to 93.27 last week (close 2 November), reflecting uncertainty in the secondary bond market over the impact of Superstorm Sandy.

Swiss Re is not keen on opening up its internal insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund to third party investors, according to reinsurance CEO for the EMEA region Jean-Jacques Henchoz.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) bought a $100mn collateralised reinsurance contract to top up its claims-paying capacity for 2012, according to governing board meeting documents.

Hurricane Sandy stirred interest in livecat trading as the storm hit New York and the north-eastern US states, reports sister title Trading Risk, although it is not known whether any actual trading occurred

PartnerRe has appointed Hervé Castella to lead its capital markets operations and added to his team with a new hire.

Investors seeking property cat risk are turning to capital markets reinsurance vehicles because the traditional benefits of investing in reinsurance equity are not working.

Scor and Swiss Re have more than doubled the target size of their latest cat bonds, taking the total issuance currently being marketed to capital markets investors to more than $500mn, The Insurance Insider can reveal.