ILS

For reinsurance buyers, one of the advantages of capital markets' enthusiasm for securitised catastrophe risk is that bonds are being priced lower as investors scramble for allocations

The capital markets' continued enthusiasm for non-correlated reinsurance cat risk has expanded assets under management (AuM) at the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector's two largest fund managers to almost $11bn.

Shares in the Spanish (re)insurer Mapfre are expected to open down sharply on 16 October, after S&P downgraded the firm below the crucial A- territory

If there was one common talking point at the 2012 Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous, it was possibly how little there was to talk about - unless you were in convergence

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched a platform to help firms manage longevity and excess mortality risks. The new product generates mortality scenarios and provides access to a range of RMS models.

The Ohio School Employees Retirement System (SERS), a large US pension fund with $9.9bn of assets under management, has shifted $30mn from underperforming hedge funds into Nephila's Triton Fund

Swiss Re's renewal of the MultiCat Mexico cat bond has priced well below the initial guidance due to high demand for the diversifying bond and its limited ability to upsize

Third Point Re's first managed cat fund will include a "significant" investment from Hiscox and write a quota share of the London-listed (re)insurer's cat exposure

Key shifts in the longevity market have set the scene for more deals in the capital markets, according to panellists at an insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held by Standard & Poor's (S&P) in London last week.

RenaissanceRe's Top Layer Re took total claims of $412.5mn from the New Zealand and Japanese earthquakes in 2011, confirming the permanent sidecar's participation at the top of the 935bn yen ($12.01bn) Zenkyoren stack.

Swiss Re is seeking $300mn for a renewal of the MultiCat Mexico cat bond on behalf of the Mexican government's disaster fund.

As pension funds groan under the liabilities of ageing Western populations, Swiss Re has warned that the (re)insurance industry needs the scale of the capital markets to absorb some of the challenges of the longevity market.