ILS

Fairfax Financial has come up $500mn short in its efforts to capitalise an Africa-focused investment fund by selling equity in the venture.

RenaissanceRe reported a $92mn net increase in the size of its retro-focused Upsilon collateralised funds at 1 January, as CEO Kevin O'Donnell said new demand helped create an opportunity for the reinsurer to grow its book.

Cat bond market conditions are extremely favourable to sponsors and it would not be surprising to see a record volume of deals this year, Swiss Re Capital Markets said in its annual insurance-linked securities (ILS) review.

Hannover Re placed a new EUR100mn ($108mn) aggregate retrocession cover at the 1 January renewals as it also expanded the size of its K-Cession sidecar.

London market protagonists and European reinsurers should together lobby to secure an “equivalence” regime for the UK with the EU so that the industry isn’t burdened with individual regulators’ collateral requirements after Brexit, said insurance industry veteran Michael Wade.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened a consultation on regulatory proposals for the forthcoming London insurance linked securities (ILS) market.

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market should expand its assets under management (AuM) at a similar pace in 2017 to last year, but increased use of leverage could provide more capacity even if growth slows, according to Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA).

Detail on RenaissanceRe's new $140mn Fibonacci Re vehicle that emerged recently suggests a structure that is a hybrid cat bond/sidecar facility, sister publication Trading Risk reported last week.

Growth in the availability of insurance-linked securities (ILS) limit is now outstripping the increase in alternative capital owing to the increased use of leverage, according to the latest ILS market update from Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA)

The top 10 insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers posted their fastest rate of growth in the past two years in the run-up to the 1 January renewals, exceeding $50bn in assets under management (AuM) for 2017.

Claims from Hurricane Matthew and the Kaikoura, New Zealand earthquake each shaved 1 percentage point off Markel Catco's returns for 2016, the company said.

Pricing on Aetna's latest Vitality Re health insurance bond settled at the bottom end of the target range, with the premium on the deal's class B notes reaching a new low, sister publication Trading Risk understands.