ILS

Validus leapfrogged Nephila to become the largest reinsurance provider for Florida Citizens Property Insurance in 2016, as the state-backed carrier restructured its traditional programme.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) has questioned the viability of hedge fund reinsurers (HFRs) amid struggling underwriting profitability and declining returns on equity (RoEs)

Aggressive investors seeking yield amid perpetual low interest rates are driving "alternative capital" towards managing general agents (MGAs)

Market volatility triggered by the UK's Brexit vote could drive increased investor interest in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) sector, although the impact is not expected to be meaningful, according to a variety of market participants.

US mutual fund manager and major sidecar investor Stone Ridge Asset Management posted a 7 percent expansion to the net asset base of its three reinsurance funds in the first part of 2016 to reach $4.76bn.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is looking to introduce Japanese corporates to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, with the company offering to issue cat bond transactions on their behalf, according to local media reports.

Allianz's corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed its former head of marine and energy Paul O'Neill as chief underwriting officer, specialty from 1 October

The Endurance-owned Blue Capital Global Reinsurance Fund reported a 1.84 percent drop in its net asset value in May due to catastrophe events in the US, Japan and Canada.

Validus is expected to hire former Enstar executive Scott Maries, sister publication Trading Risk revealed last week.

A project to attract more insurance-linked securities (ILS) transactions to London should not be held up by the Brexit vote, according to Malcolm Newman, sponsor of the London Market Group (LMG)'s ILS Working Group.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) managed to expand its traditional reinsurance programme by more than $400mn to $4.51bn in the January and April renewals for less premium than it paid in 2015.

Collateralised reinsurance is likely to be the main driver of insurance-linked securities (ILS) growth as Solvency II pushes insurers to seek out "cash in a box" risk transfer solutions for peak cat risk, according to Michael Stahel, partner and portfolio manager at LGT ILS Partners.