Life-threatening storm surge is already occurring along the coastline from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle, including Pensacola Bay and southern portions of Mobile Bay.
The ILS market is seeking to avoid further high levels of collateral lock-up should a string of events similar to those in 2017-2018 happen again, writes Lucy Jones.
The latest increase has pulled its cumulative returns since inception down to a loss of 52.9 percent for ordinary shares, as prior-year gains have been more than wiped out by 2017/18 disaster events.
The modelling company’s range for the European storm is significantly higher than the $680mn cost forecast by actuarial consultants Meyerthole Siems Kohlrus.
Julian Enoizi, who was instrumental in bringing the £75mn Baltic Re terrorism cat bond to market, said using ILS for an exotic risk was “a long journey”.
The total of Hurricane Michael claims filed with Floridian insurers through to 11 January has reached $5.02bn, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said.
Richard Slater joins from XL Catlin as underwriting director, while Adam Champion leaves MS Amlin to take the role of senior vice president, portfolio manager and operations.
Securis-backed Special Purpose Arrangement (SPA) 6129 made a loss of £31.4mn ($44.2mn) in 2017 following the year's major catastrophe losses, as its combined ratio spiked to 180.4 percent.
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has hired an insurance-linked securities specialist from interdealer broker Tullett Prebon to work in the fledgling UK sector, sister publication Trading Risk reported
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to turn to the insurance-linked securities market to bolster its flood cover through a July placement.
Catastrophe data aggregator Perils has pegged its second loss estimate
for extra-tropical Cyclone Eleanor, also known as Burglind, at EUR680mn ($836.7mn).
Markel Catco's London-listed Reinsurance Opportunities Fund had to put two-thirds of its year-end 2017 asset base into side pockets, much higher than the typical 5-15 percent that it puts on hold each year, sister publication Trading Risk reported.
The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund said its losses from Hurricane Irma were expected to reach $2.04bn, less than half its previous estimate of $5bn.
UK terrorism reinsurer Pool Re is considering tapping the newly minted UK insurance-linked securities market through an issuance worth at least $100mn, sister publication Trading Risk reported.
Nephila Capital is planning to launch its own managing agency, replacing current turnkey firm Asta Managing Agency with its own personnel to run its Lloyd's Syndicate 2357 in-house, according to sister title Trading Risk.
Tokio Marine is launching a new earthquake cat bond which will protect both itself and subsidiary, Nichido Fire Insurance, sister title Trading Risk has reported.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has been criticised for demanding new disclosures from local alternative reinsurance operators without sufficient consultation with involved parties.
Markel Catco has placed 41.5 percent of net assets in its London-listed Reinsurance Opportunities Fund into side pockets connected to the 2017 losses, the retro manager said in an update on its 2018 portfolio.
Several Latin American countries are set to benefit from $1.36bn of combined earthquake reinsurance from a new cat bond, sister publication Trading Risk reported.
RenaissanceRe's third-party capital platforms have engaged in substantial fundraising following hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, the carrier revealed in its Q4 results.
Annual insured catastrophe losses surpassed $140bn for the first time last year following the California wildfires and hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM), according to JLT Re.
AIR Worldwide has said insured losses as a result of wind from Storm Eleanor, known as Burglind in Germany, will total EUR1.1bn to EUR1.6bn ($1.3bn-$1.9bn).
The Californian Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has said the Thomas wildfire in the south of the state is now 92 percent contained, having destroyed only 1,063 structures.
Lloyd's (re)insurer Neon will become the first party to use the new UK insurance-linked securities (ILS) framework after it secured approval from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to launch a sidecar
At least $3.8bn of new capital has been raised in the space following significant losses from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria (HIM), according to Trading Risk data.
United Insurance Holdings (UPC Insurance) has raised $150mn through a public debt offering, which the Floridian carrier has said will enable it to participate in future opportunities.
Markel Catco has increased its fund loss reserves for its Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund by 4.4 percent of net asset value (NAV) in response to October's California wildfires.
XL Catlin has launched a $150mn Galileo Re cat bond which seems to give an early indication of rate increases in the insurance-linked securities space, The Insurance Insider’s sister publication Trading Risk has reported.
Fund manager Markel Catco has stepped up reserving following hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, setting aside a total amount equivalent to a fifth of its net asset value (NAV)
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors contemplating leaving the sector because of low rates may be enticed to stay by the price increases expected following the recent hurricanes, according to Todor Todorov, head of ILS research at Willis Towers Watson.
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers must enter into dialogue with cedants to build confidence following the recent hurricanes, said Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities, speaking at the Trading Risk New York Rendez-Vous last week.
Tropical Storm Nate is forecast to hit Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a Category 1 storm this weekend, almost 32 years after Hurricane Juan took a similar path at the same strength and caused $5.5bn of damage in today's terms
Uncertainty over the cost of hurricanes Irma and Maria has put the brakes on the recovery of the secondary cat bond market, which had initially rebounded.
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager Markel Catco has warned that combined losses from hurricanes Harvey and Irma have the potential to fully erode its annual returns "or more" for 2017.
Determining the root cause of Hurricane Harvey losses and identifying whether claims should fall to the private sector or the state will create a huge legal conundrum in the wake of the storm, lawyers have said.
A World Bank-backed $206mn catastrophe risk insurance programme has been launched in the Philippines to help the country better respond to losses from severe weather, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Markel Catco escaped significant losses in the first half of the year to provide a 3.94 percent return for ordinary shareholders in the Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, the company said in an interim financial report.
A new $206mn catastrophe risk insurance programme developed by the Filipino government and the World Bank that involves major European reinsurers will help the Pacific island nation better respond to losses from severe weather, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) joined other forecasters in projecting a more active US hurricane season this year in its updated August outlook, as the second hurricane of 2017 emerged.
Two weather forecasters have lifted their projections for the number of named storms in the current Atlantic hurricane season, falling into line with the expectation of a slightly above-average year
Property Claim Services (PCS) is tracking two storms that hit Turkey in July as catastrophe events after local media reported substantial insured losses
Willis Towers Watson Securities has said the record $6.3bn of non-life cat bond issuance in the second quarter may spell the beginning of the end for traditional property cat reinsurance.
Reaction to the UK government's insurance-linked securities (ILS) regulations released last week has been positive, with market participants saying their concerns about earlier draft proposals had been noted and the end result was a framework they could work with.
Florida homeowners' insurer Federated National renewed its $2.19bn reinsurance programme along similar lines to the 2016 cover for a total outlay of $180mn, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
AmTrust Financial Services has joined the list of first-time cat bond sponsors in 2017 as it seeks to raise $100mn from Fortius Re II, according to Trading Risk sources
Amlin-owned insurance-linked securities (ILS) manager Leadenhall's support of InsurTech life insurance start-up Gryphon Group Holdings is connected to a reinsurance transaction, Trading Risk reported.
Swiss Re expanded its Sector Re sidecar to $492mn midway through 2017 to increase its retro support from the vehicle by $100mn in the past year, sister publication Trading Risk revealed last week.
Leadenhall Capital Partners announced its assets under management (AuM) had grown by more than $800mn in the past half-year to reach $4.2bn by 1 June as the company was named as an investor in start-up Gryphon Group Holdings.
Brown & Brown-owned Arrowhead General Insurance Agency has added a small earthquake and hurricane insurance agency TriCoast Insurance to the group, the company announced.
