November 2010/1

Bermudian reinsurer Flagstone Re has launched its third cat bond, a multi-peril offering called Montana Re 2010, into an increasingly busy year-end pipeline, Trading Risk understands.

Chartis subsidiary National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh (NUFI) has returned to the cat bond market with its second Lodestone offering of the year.

Cat bond sales will be significant for both peak and diversifying perils in the rest of 2010 and throughout 2011 as capacity in the market continues to rise, GC Securities says in a market update.

Reinsurance giant Swiss Re has launched the renewal of its 2008 Vega Capital collateralised risk obligation (CRO), Trading Risk understands.

IFEX ambassador and former Manulife chief Andreas Kusay has launched Aliseo Re, a new $300mn fully collateralised retro vehicle focusing on property catastrophe business.

Several multi-billion pound longevity swaps are up for tender from pension funds and should be complete within the first half of 2011, advisory firm Hymans Robertson predicts in its quarterly assessment of the pension risk market.

The sector had its teeth gritted and eyes set on the horizon for the long haul as Trading Risk took the pulse of the convergence market at its annual New York event.

Traditional market rates are heading downward as the key 1.1 renewal season approaches. Willis Capital Markets & Advisory managing director Bill Dubinsky explores the potential upside for the convergence market.

CME adds rainfall to weather offerings; Hope for OTC longevity swap trading

Bermudian specialty insurer Lancashire Holdings has sold a number of industry loss warranty (ILW) products, generating $5.4mn premium, in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill earlier this year.

Longevity swap structurers are not paying enough attention to the risk of swap deals outlasting their participants, says RBS managing director and head of insurance solutions Eugene Dimitriou.

Buyers of industry loss warranty (ILW) instruments are seeking more risky exposure to European wind to provide balance to the low-risk new ILS issuance that has hit the market in recent months.