April 2009/1

An anticipated $3bn in insurance linked securities (ILS) issuance for 2009 will not provide much-needed net growth to the market, but will only replace capacity from maturing deals, according to indu

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) – the multi-country catastrophe risk pool backed by the World Bank – has had its reserves boosted by a EUR12.5mn donation from th

The three remaining cat bonds affected by the collapse of Lehman Brothers have met their March interest payments. However, a default risk remains on troubled Ajax Re, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) sa

Nephila-backed weather risk service WeatherBill has launched a screen-based underwriting and trading platform. The WeatherBill White Label platform enables any third party to offer weather coverage t

Allianz’s 2008 Blue Coast cat bond has been placed on negative watch due to fears that hurricanes Ike and Gustav will trigger a loss on it. If the bond were to suffer a loss it would be the six

The ILS sector is maturing and now offers sufficient breadth and depth – through sidecars, catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked derivatives and other products – to provide real risk transf

The latest cat bond to hit the market – Allianz’s upsized $180mn Blue Fin II – has eschewed the traditional total return swap (TRS) structure to invest collateral in notes issued b

Bermudian insurance-linked investment manager Pentelia Capital Management has tapped the Japanese investor market to raise $132mn for a new dedicated cat fund – Eolia Diamond Ltd. Pentelia R

UK insurance giant Aviva closed a £475mn longevity derivative transaction with a group of investors led by Bermuda-based PartnerRe, in a specially-tailored deal that opened the life insurance market

A dislocation in pricing between cat bonds and the traditional reinsurance market may dampen the appetite of potential new ILS sponsors in 2009, according to Ming Lee, president and CEO of modelling

Juniperus Capital Limited (JCL) chief executive Michael Cash has left the Aon Benfield-backed investment firm just nine months after its launch, prompting a management reshuffle. Executive chairman P

Nephila-backed weather risk service WeatherBill has launched a screen-based underwriting and trading platform. The WeatherBill White Label platform enables any third party to offer weather coverage t