February 2009/1

Oil Casualty Insurance Company’s (OIL) 2005 $405mn Avalon Re bond has been extended a further nine months, to 3 September 2009, in order to fully assess the losses to the bond.   The notes, whi

Convergence stalwart Hannover Re has successfully completed a EUR100mn embedded value life transaction, proving that the foundering life  securitisation market still has a pulse.   Hannover continued

The insurance-linked derivatives market is expected to operate on standard contract documents “within months”, allowing cat swaps, futures and options to be traded more transparently, eff

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest weather derivatives exchange, has expanded its temperature-based weather products to Australia.   The new listings, which will begin trading on 23 Februar

 IFEX traded 25 lots ($250,000) of its 1st event 2008 $10bn event-linked futures contracts in February, as traders closed out positions ahead of the revised industry loss estimates for 2008’s H

  Allstate-sponsored $250mn cat bond Willow Re paid only 91 percent of its latest interest payment, triggering ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and AM Best to downgrade the notes, citin

Insurance-linked capital markets could benefit as Florida looks to alternative capital providers as part of the solution to the state catastrophe fund’s $19bn capacity shortfall.   Florida Hurr

Capital markets capacity providers will emerge as winners as traditional markets seek alternative sources of capital in the face of major 2008 balance sheet losses.   With the 2008 results season now

Asset values in the collateral account of Hannover Re’s $133mn hybrid sidecar vehicle Globe Re have fallen, triggering a “new mark-to-market collateral arrangement”.   Deutsche Bank

The class B notes of Catlin-managed catastrophe collateralised debt obligation (CDO) Bay Haven have been upgraded to A by S&P as the bond nears maturity with no sign of loss.   Ratings agency S&P upg

 The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) traded more than $30mn notional limit of its CHI hurricane cat futures in the first weeks of 2009, as reinsurance broker Carvill withdrew from the initiative wh

Japanese insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance USA Inc is offering weather insurance policies in the US as a “simpler” alternative to derivatives for smaller companies.   The firm will sell i