ILS

The mid-year renewal included $135mn from a Bermuda-listed placement, which shrank from $278mn after the insurer revised the covered portfolio. 

Reinsurance rates are rising, especially in Florida and retro, but primary market changes are still outstripping the significance of these improvements.

Participation by DE Shaw for the first time since 2015 drove an overall increase in ILS use by the Floridian insurer for its 2019-20 programme.

Capital is returning to the ILS industry after the past two years of losses, Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities, said at the firm’s 2019 ILS event last week.

Third Point Re and White Mountains have also given financial support to the start-up.

The reinsurer has secured $60mn of protection against named storms and earthquakes in the US from the capital markets.

New deals have brought total year-to-date ILS volumes to $2.9bn, pointing to a shrinking of the market.

Reinsurers are now in a competitive position in the ILS market, having narrowed a major market share deficit in the past five years through some large M&A deals and a few instances of significant organic growth.

The Toronto-based firm will continue to be managed by its current team.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters has proposed the new law to end lapses in National Flood Insurance Program coverage.

Further M&A activity in the ILS market points to the likelihood that no single ownership model will prevail.

The buyer spends $55mn on a 30 percent stake in the Chicago ILS fund manager.