Retrocession

Markel Catco investors must be prepared to take a critical look at some of the statements in the company’s half-year report.

C shareholders in the Catco Reinsurance Opportunities Fund, who are not exposed to the 2017 losses, saw a return of 6.31 percent for H1 2018 amid low catastrophic activity during the period.

The German reinsurer ceded 31 percent of its EUR134.8mn of gross major losses to retro partners in the first half.

The retro manager’s assets under management reached $6.5bn at the end of June, including trapped capital.

A Northshore Re cat bond and a one-off deal with third-party capital partners have helped Axis to reduce its catastrophe exposures.

The latest increase in PCS figures for hurricanes Harvey and Irma means that US wind aggregate industry loss warranties (ILWs) that trigger at $30bn have been hit, Trading Risk sources said.

Retro purchasing rose modestly at the mid-year renewals, but this did not prevent rate increases from slowing, sources said.

Demand for retrocession is expected to be up slightly at the mid-year renewals, but with relatively little business concluded so far there is no clear outlook on how rates will hold up.

Based in Bermuda, Matt Flynn will focus on retrocessional property catastrophe business at RenaissanceRe.

As the 2017 catastrophe claims evolve, an “awful lot” of trapped retro capital could become lost capital, chief underwriting officer at QBE Re Jonathan Parry said during a panel debate at the Trading Risk London ILS conference.

The retro manager's Irma loss deterioration is on a higher scale than that reported by peers.

Ever heard the underwriting joke about how to spot the actuary driving a car?