January 2012/1

Bermudian reinsurer Arch expects to take a $13.7mn-$15.7mn loss from its share in collateralised writer Aeolus's results from the second half of 2011.

The cat bond market missed a chance to grow in 2011 as it failed to compete sufficiently on pricing, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA) argues in its latest quarterly update on the market.

RenaissanceRe has confirmed that it has launched a new sidecar Upsilon Re, which will target collateralised retrocession business.

Validus investment vehicle AlphaCat Re 2011 wrote $76.1mn of collateralised property reinsurance and retro premium in 2011, writing almost all of the limit available to the special purpose vehicle.

Insurance-specialist private equity investor Aquiline Capital Partners has bought out the existing shareholders of Bermuda-based catastrophe investment manager Juniperus Capital Ltd (JCL), Trading Risk can reveal.

European exposure and loss collator, Perils AG, has estimated an initial industry loss of EUR300mn for December's windstorm Joachim, which swept through France, Germany and Switzerland.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has launched a sequel to its August debut cat bond, seeking $150mn from the latest Embarcadero Re transaction.

Swiss-based alternative investor Twelve Capital has expanded its partnership with Bank Sarasin to sell a new ILS fund

Major cat fund manager Clariden Leu has re-opened its flagship Cat Bond Fund to new capital inflows, seven months after closing its doors in May last year in the face of weak ILS issuance

The ILS market continues to grow its investor base, drawing in a wider, more geographically balanced pool of investors, Swiss Re says in its annual review of the market

Collateralised reinsurer Catco deployed $1.25bn of retrocession capacity in the 1 January renewals through its Master Fund, according to a stock exchange announcement

Leading ILS fund manager Nephila Capital won a $100mn mandate from an Oregon state pension fund, taking it near the $5bn assets under management mark