July 2015/1

Reinsurers on Suncorp's catastrophe programme suffered rate reductions of between 5 and 15 percent at the 1 July renewal, although some favoured partners received improved terms.

Property catastrophe rate reductions continued to slow in the 1 July renewals, with collateralised reinsurance markets one driver of the slowdown in peak zone softening, according to Willis Re.

The average ILS expected return recovered to 3.66 percent by June 2015, from a low of 2.36 percent in September 2014, according to secondary market data compiled by Lane Financial.

The Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Price Return Index has experienced its largest first-half fall since H1 2011, when the market was rocked by Tohoku earthquake losses.

Kortis: How does the first longevity trend bond work?

On 30 June 2015 the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit finally put to rest the ongoing litigation relating to Mariah Re

Niklaus Hilti said that reinsurance investors could expect to earn net risk-adjusted returns of 5 percent or less in the current market, even for higher-risk deals that attract double-digit gross premium rates

The net asset value of Stone Ridge's ILS funds increased by 9 percent to $3.29bn at the end of April, up from $3.01bn at the end of January, according to its latest financial reports.

Zurich ILS fund managers Secquaero and Credit Suisse Insurance-linked Strategies were among the winners at the 2015 Trading Risk awards, which were held in London in mid-June

Alternative investment manager Tages Capital backed the launch of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management's ILS fund, the parties announced.

Average returns generated by seven cat bond funds in the first half of 2015 plummeted by 79 percent compared to the same period last year, the worst performance since Trading Risk began tracking the data.

Hurricane models have forged the way to express catastrophe risk in financial terms - but there are still many difficulties for investors attempting to analyse their exposures

Two July deals from new sponsors added a further $350mn to the ILS issuance tally, with investors expecting further earthquake deals to launch in the third quarter.

The run of stealth (re)insurance M&A deals continued in the past month, with the focus moving to the primary market as Ace agreed a $28.3bn acquisition of Chubb

A handful of cat bond lite transactions cleared in the second quarter as market commentators predicted that use of such deals would increase.

Second quarter cat bond issuance this year was dominated by many repeat deals from the same period of 2014, but more subdued conditions prevailed.

M&A activity has taken off in the reinsurance market over the past year - with integration at some merged companies well underway while the fraught battle between Axis and Exor for PartnerRe continues

Mariah Re liquidators lose appeal; LGT leads on FHCF; US winter hits H1 cats; Assurant collateralised cover stable; Axis boosts PartnerRe bid; Axa UK longevity swap...

It is understood Catco founder Tony Belisle is keen for the company to tie up with a reinsurer as the Bermudian investment manager works towards a sale, but industry observers remain sceptical that this will be the outcome of the process.

A sequence of New Madrid earthquakes similar to those that struck in 1811 and 1812 could cost insurers $150bn, according to Swiss Re

Are ILS managers on a bit of a summer diet?

One of the world's largest catastrophe reinsurance buyers, IAG, is set to cut its reinsurance spending in the open market from 2016 after it entered a 10-year quota share arrangement with Berkshire Hathaway

Alternative market participation on the Florida Citizens Property Insurance traditional reinsurance programme dropped by 9 percentage points in 2015 as rated carriers led by Swiss Re and Everest Re bulked up their lines.

The top 10 ILS fund managers grew their collective assets under management (AuM) by less than 2 percent in the first half of 2015, according to Trading Risk records.