An Italian cat bond “would be snapped up”, says Tenax Capital’s Figna
Speaking to a local Italian daily newspaper, Massimo Figna, founder and CEO of hedge fund manager Tenax Capital, explained that with insurance penetration extremely low, Italy would benefit from the use of catastrophe bonds, which he believes investors would “snap up.” Tenax Capital is a London-based investment manager that Figna founded and it offers a […]
Alternative capital raises accelerate to ~$11bn YTD, says Berenberg
Having only a few weeks ago estimated that as much as $8 billion of alternative reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) capital had been raised year-to-date, analysts from investment bank Berenberg have now upped that amount to ~$11 billion. As a result, the analysts now believe that alternative and ILS capital flows into the insurance and […]
Star Group weather derivative pays out again on warm 2023 winter
US energy company Star Group (formerly Star Gas Partners) has benefitted from its weather derivative arrangements again in the first-quarter of 2023, recording a full recovery under the terms of the degree day contract it has in place. Star Group has been utilising weather derivatives to hedge risk for well over a decade, benefiting from […]
Bloomberg: Hong Kong’s catastrophe bond market can reach $2 billion by 2025
Hong Kong’s catastrophe bond market may grow to $2 billion by 2025, accounting for 4-5% of global cat bonds, according to a poll conducted at Bloomberg’s Insurance Forum. Authorities recently extended a grant program in a bid promote the city as a regional hub for insurance-linked securities, a $40 billion market dominated by Bermuda. FULL […]
PCRIC Congratulates its ILS Specialists
PCRIC is pleased to announce that two of its team members, Mr. Pankaj Singh (Finance & Planning Manager) and Mr. Richard Poulter (Actuarial Specialist) have successfully completed a seven-week course on the fundamentals of Insurance Linked Securities (ILS), run by Phoenix CRetro Ltd London in partnership with various professional bodies and educational institutions worldwide. The course provided the participants with an in-depth understanding […]
Hannover Re grows collateralised reinsurance fronting business 36% in 2022
Global reinsurance giant Hannover Re continued to expand the volume of collateralised business that it acts as a front or transformer for in 2022, with ceded limit rising 36% to almost EUR 6.2 billion for the year. Hannover Re is a major player in insurance-linked securities (ILS) market facilitation, through its fronting and risk transformation […]
ECB & EIOPA call for EU cat bond issuance platform
A new paper from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) highlights the potential for increased use of catastrophe bonds to support the overall supply of catastrophe insurance across the European Union (EU), as climate change threatens to widen the protection gap. According to the joint discussion paper, […]
ESMA said not in discussion on cat bond eligibility for UCITS funds
For a few weeks now we’ve been hearing rumours and receiving messages from contacts related to the fact the European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA), a financial regulator, had restarted an exploration of catastrophe bonds and whether they should be an eligible asset for UCITS investment funds. Previously, the European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA), […]
Singapore extends ILS Grant Scheme three years to end 2025: MAS
The insurance-linked securities (ILS) grant scheme in Singapore has been a significant help in the country attracting catastrophe bonds and other ILS activity and it has now been extended by a further three years, to run until the end of 2025. Singapore began its focus on insurance-linked securities (ILS) as a business opportunity around 2016, […]
CEA secures upsized $200m Ursa Re 2023-1 cat bond at 10% avg price discount
The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has now secured and priced its new Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2023-1) catastrophe bond to provide it an upsized $200 million of reinsurance, while on average the spreads settled around 10% below the initial mid-point of guidance. The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) returned to the catastrophe bond market in late March, […]