ILS

Connecticut-based SAC Capital Management is poised to become the next hedge fund to launch a reinsurance vehicle, SAC Re

Cat bond prices have recovered from a mid-August slump that occurred around the time of Hurricane Irene, although they still remain below the levels seen before the March Tohoku earthquake.

Investors in the second Mariah Re tornado cat bond issuance stand to lose some or even all of their $100mn capital, while losses creep up into the first higher-lying issuance.

French insurance giant Axa has had a repeat success in the cat bond market with its second Calypso Capital transaction, kicking off what many brokers predict will be a bumper fourth quarter (see article on following page).

The ILS market is regaining its impetus after a mid-year slowdown, with forecasts of a $2bn-$2.5bn bumper fourth quarter.

The price of debt issued by European (re)insurers is poised to rally after six months of falling valuations, as continental governments and regulators edge closer to intervening in a bid to shore up confidence in their faltering banks and sovereign debt.

Despite maintaining a "stable" outlook on the global reinsurance sector, rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has not been shy in handing out downgrades in 2011.

Connecticut-based SAC Capital Management is poised to become the latest hedge fund to launch a reinsurance start-up, sister publication Trading Risk has revealed.

London-listed collateralised reinsurance fund manager Catco is considering fundraising options to take advantage of a looming capacity crunch in the high-severity retrocession market at the January 2012 renewals.

S&P downgraded the Mariah Re 2010-1 tornado bond by one notch to CCC with a negative outlook after covered losses rose to $790mn.

French insurer Axa has become the first sponsor to bring a cat bond issuance in the fourth quarter with a new Calypso Capital offering covering European wind risk.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has downgraded the tornado bond Mariah Re 2010-1 by a notch to CCC with a negative outlook after covered losses rose to $790mn