ILS

London-based insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager Securis Investment Partners plans to launch a new fund on the main London Stock Exchange (LSE) next month.

Serial insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuer Chubb Corp is launching its fourth East Lane Re cat bond, seeking $200mn of cover against north-eastern US wind and earthquake losses.

Cat bonds performed strongly in 2010, according to Swiss Re's basket of indices for the asset class, with the reinsurer hailing strong performance indicators as a sign the market has fully recovered from the financial crisis.

Cat bond sales have made a strong start to 2011, with industry stalwart Swiss Re completing its largest ever Successor note issue and US insurer The Hartford closing its latest Foundation Re bond oversubscribed.

Lloyd's reinsurer Catlin last week said that it had replaced its expiring Newton Re cat bond cover with both traditional and collateralised reinsurance.

French reinsurer Scor hopes that longevity risk business will make up about 3 percent of its global life premiums within three years, according to reports.

Swiss Re has opened the 2011 ILS scoreboard in spectacular style with its biggest Successor offering to date, while repeat cat bond sponsor The Hartford is revisiting the cat bond market with the first pure US wind bond of 2011.

Ratings agency S&P says it does not expect catastrophe bond issuance to rise significantly in 2011, despite increased investor demand, as the soft reinsurance market and low catastrophe toll will hold back growth.

Debt-laden broker acquirer Towergate Partnership has silenced its critics by successfully pushing ahead with a refinancing exercise that combines £930mn of new debt and £200mn of new equity.

As attention turns towards continental Europe's reinsurance giants, the picture from US, Bermudian and early Lloyd's reporters is of marginally better-than-expected Q4 results but grim prospects for the start of 2011

Guernsey based private equity firm Terra Firma is in talks to acquire Lloyd's (re)insurer Chaucer plc, The Insurance Insider can reveal.

As Cyclone Yasi made landfall as a Category 4 storm on Australia's Queensland coast last week (3 February), reinsurance brokers transacted so-called livecat industry loss warranty (ILW) deals for traders seeking to hedge against losses.