April 2012/1

Validus CEO Ed Noonan said the Bermudian (re)insurer is considering its options to raise additional capital for its AlphaCat funds and managed accounts, having received recent interest in the platform.

Swiss Re's latest cat bond, Mythen Re, has upsized more than two and a half times to $400mn of cover from the original target of $150mn, Trading Risk understands.

The first cat bond from Florida state-backed insurer Citizens is set to triple in size to reach a vast $750mn and take market share from its targeted traditional reinsurance purchase, Trading Risk understands.

With 2011 being the worst year on record for insurance cat losses, 2012 is a "very good moment" to start investing in ILS, according to Clariden Leu's head of ILS investments Michael Stahel.

Swiss Re has brought cat bond Mythen Re to the market, another North Atlantic hurricane and European windstorm offering with an added second event structure that could help investors diversify within US wind risk, Trading Risk understands.

Secondary cat bond pricing fell 2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 as an active new issuance pipeline and selling pressure pushed the market down, according to Aon Benfield Securities.

Seed capital investor Northill Capital will buy a majority stake in ILS investment manager Securis Investment Partners, buying out original investors Swiss Re and Stone Point Capital.

The capital markets are benefitting this year from a continued drive among state-backed US insurance carriers to offload their risk due to tight budgets and the rising cost of traditional property cat cover

ILS fund managers operating in Europe will soon have to deal with a host of new regulations set to come into force five years after the financial crisis. Leonard Ng lays out key elements of the new legal frameworks that will place hedge funds under closer supervision

ILS fund managers may have been raking in new capital over the past year but their market share as cat bond buyers is declining as activity among generalist investors picks up

The US Jumpstart Our Business Start-ups (JOBS) Act will open the door on advertising and general solicitation during ILS offerings, provided end buyers are qualified institutional investors, said ILS legal expert Stephen Rooney

BMA cuts SPI fees; RMS enters casualty model venture; 2011 cats fail to dent capital

Mexico is planning to transfer nearly all its federal catastrophe risk to the capital markets after pioneering the first sovereign parametric cat bond in 2006

Industry group the Life and Longevity Markets Association (LLMA) has launched a new set of longevity indices to help attract additional investor capital to the market

Collateralised markets continued to attract interest as rates rose at the Asian-focused 1 April renewals, according to broker reports

ILS fund manager returns have begun 2012 in positive territory after the first catastrophe clear start to a year since 2009

North Atlantic hurricane activity is set to be below average in the coming season, according to the latest reports from Colorado State University's Department of Atmospheric Science

Former Climate Exchange CEO Neil Eckert is moving closer to a deal to buy back the trading rights to the Ifex catastrophe-linked derivatives in time for trading during the 2012 wind season, Trading Risk understands

Secondary trading volumes have been dampened by the busy new issuance pipeline as investors focus mostly on building up their portfolios with new deals

Rising ILS premiums suggest that the market is hardening, Lane Financial said in its annual review of the market

Pricing on the Swiss Re cat bond price return index has continued its slow plunge to a two-year low this month as significant ILS investors seek other reinsurance opportunities

In the largest ever first quarter of cat bond issuance, Swiss Re's $200mn Combine Re offering stood out for an innovative structure that the reinsurer hopes will open up the market to more sponsors

There was a fun little video introduction at the recent Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association ILS conference that involved asking passersby on Wall Street what they thought of the world of cat modelling and cat bonds

Start-up ILS manager Petra Haven Capital hopes to begin underwriting from 2013 after raising more than half its $100mn target capital, CEO Brad Chance told Trading Risk