Trading Risk February 2018

TigerRisk has hired Marc Beckers as partner and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea).

The sidecar market has expanded notably in 2018 as Sompo and Axis became the latest carriers to provide updates on new or expanded vehicles.

ILS spreads have widened in the mid-to-high teens range after last year's losses, Swiss Re Capital Markets estimated in its latest quarterly market report.

Abuse of side pockets in the financial crisis - when hedge funds locked in investors to avoid having to sell off discounted assets - has made the practice less palatable in the wider financial markets.

LGT ILS Partners launched its Bermudian rated vehicle Lumen Re with $350mn of equity, according to an AM Best rating report.

Undoubtedly, prior positive returns were one of the factors that weighed with investors who supported Markel Catco's successful reload last year.

Bermuda-based (re)insurer XL Catlin placed more than $500mn of new catastrophe limit for 2018 and increased alternative market retro support to more than $3bn, as ceding strategies among major carriers diverged following last year's losses.

Wildfire losses had a varying impact on some of the reinsurer-affiliated ILS platforms in the fourth quarter.

The cumulative insured loss number from PCS for 2017 hurricane and wildfire claims now stands at $68bn, with all cat perils in the US totalling $88bn.

The strategy of Langhorne Re, the closed-ended life fund set up last month by RenaissanceRe and life reinsurer Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), will be based largely around a leveraged asset play, according to sources.

The 2017 calendar year was the costliest on record for weather events, with insured losses estimated at $132bn, according to Aon Benfield's Impact Forecasting.

First quarter cat bond issuance has already reached $1.56bn after the World Bank's Latin American earthquake cat bond upsized to close at $1.36bn, according to Trading Risk data.