March 2008/1

Ratings agency actions based on markto-market losses in investment portfolios, failed commercial paper auctions and the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the monoline bond insurers – which pr

Hannover Re and Bermudian reinsurer PartnerRe Ltd have recently launched dedicated ILS departments to explore different ways to interact with the capital markets, Trading Risk can reveal. The moves u

Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe (RenRe) has withdrawn its proposed $200mn CPXRe cat bond and Catlin’s $150mn Newton Re 2008-1 was a third smaller than originally conceived, mainly due to lack

Two issuers brought bonds to the market in early 2008, based on proprietary cat models rather than those of the three main risk modelling agencies, and with varying degrees of success. Catlin: Newton

SCOR Global Life SE, a subsidiary of French (re)insurance giant SCOR SE has signed a four year, fully collateralised, extreme mortality derivative contract with JPMorgan. The swap, which runs from 1

Secondary market trading of insurance linked securities (ILS) has remained strong in 2008, with some $550mn of cat bonds alone traded to mid-February, according to Albert Selius, managing director of

Lucida plc, a new annuity and longevity insurance company headed by ex-Prudential plc CEO John Bloomer and backed by hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management, entered into an over-the-counter derivativ

Gallagher Re’s Re-Ex derivatives platform will move to Aon’s Capital Market’s division on completion of Aon’s $38mn+ acquisition. “Gallagher Re has invested significantl

Risk modelling firm Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched the Paradex Europe Windstorm index – the first parametric index for assessing European windstorm insured industry losses. The in