Capital markets

State-backed UK flood reinsurer Flood Re has released a tender to appoint a retrocession broker, according to UK trade body the Association of British Insurers

Stone Ridge Asset Management allocated $30mn to Bermudian retro writer Aeolus and another $30mn to Everest Re's Mt Logan Re sidecar ahead of the mid-year renewals, according to the latest quarterly reports from the US fund manager.

A dispute over a $100mn cat bond payout to US insurer American Family Mutual Insurance for 2011 tornado losses was dismissed by a New York district court late last month

Alternative capital could take a 50 percent or greater share of global property cat limit in the future as the insurance-linked securities investor base continues to grow, according to Fermat Capital managing principal Brett Houghton.

Medium-sized insurance intermediaries are increasing seeking to diversify their income streams by venturing into new business areas, including employee benefits consulting, senior broking sources have told The Insurance Insider.

The Africa Risk Capacity (ARC) agency has revealed plans to set up a multi-year platform targeting over $1bn in issuance of African climate change catastrophe bonds over the next 30 years.

DCG Iris shareholders voted unanimously to wind up the closed-ended insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund during an extraordinary general meeting on 24 September.

Final pricing was reached for a new $500mn issuance of municipal bonds that will act as a layer of catastrophe funding for the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA), sister publication Trading Risk reported last week

Technology giant IBM's UK pension scheme committed $50mn to invest in Nephila Capital's Iron Catastrophe Fund at the start of this year, according to its most recent annual report.

The National Bank of Ukraine has granted the first licence permitting a domestic insurer to post collateral in a bank outside of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

Hedge fund backing for lawyers representing plaintiffs in class action suits and other civil litigation could drive up claims costs, Swiss Re's chief economist has warned.24

The US Treasury is considering tightening up its regulation of hedge fund-backed reinsurers following calls from lawmakers to address alleged tax avoidance.