Evolution of the Sidecar Market
Chart presents the evolution of sidecar capacity compared with the Global Property Catastrophe ROL Index, 2005 – 2018.
$37 billion in catastrophe bonds in market
At the end of August, the global catastrophe bond market stood at $36.6 billion following a surge of issuance in 2017 and 2018. Through the first two-thirds of 2019, $4.4 billion in cat bonds were issued.
Calibrating Gompertz in Reverse: Mortality-Adjusted (Biological) Ages around the World
This paper develops a statistical and methodological framework for inverting the Gompertz-Makeham (GM) law of mortality for heterogenous populations in a manner consistent with a compensation law of mortality (CLaM), to formally define a global mortality-adjusted (biological) age.
Artex private cat bond vehicle completes $50.26m issuance
A $50.26 million Artex SAC Limited – Series IX Notes private catastrophe bond transaction has been issued by the Artex Risk Solutions owned segregated account reinsurance transformer platform Artex SAC Limited.
AXIS issues $64.14m Alturas collateralised sidecar tranche for 2020
AXIS Capital, the global specialist re/insurer headquartered in Bermuda, has issued a first tranche of notes from its collateralised reinsurance sidecar vehicle Alturas Re Ltd. for 2020, sponsoring a $64.14 million issuance to expand on the collateralised quota share arrangement.
RenRe to settle Mona Lisa Re 2020 cat bond at $400m in size
RenaissanceRe, the Bermuda-headquartered global reinsurance firm and third-party capital manager, has settled for a 60% upsizing of its latest catastrophe bond, with the Mona Lisa Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) cat bond transaction now priced at $400 million in size.
Athene's ACRA a reflection of Bermuda's sidecar innovation: Chip Gillis
Athene Life Re’s recently capitalised sidecar vehicle for life and retirement investment opportunities, Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate (ACRA), is a reflection of the innovation in Bermuda that led to the sidecar, applied to the life risks sector, according to Chairman Chip Gillis.
Cat bond rebound helps Q4 issuance hit record $3.3bn
A rebound in issuance of property catastrophe risk linked deals has helped issuance of catastrophe bonds and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) reach a record level in the fourth-quarter of 2019, with $3.3 billion of new transactions recorded by Artemis.
Munich Re renews Leo Re Ltd. sidecar for PGGM at $400m
Munich Re and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM have now completed issuance of their Leo Re Ltd. private sidecar arrangement for 2020, which is again $400 million in size.
Swiss Re's Matterhorn Re 2020 cat bond doubles in size to $350m
The latest catastrophe bond from Swiss Re has been well-received by the ILS investor base, helping the Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) cat bond double in size while marketing to become a $350 million issuance.
Hannover Re brings first retro cat bond in years, a $100m 3264 Re
Hannover Re is back in the catastrophe bond market to source a slice of its own retrocessional coverage, with a $100 million or greater international multi-peril 3264 Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) cat bond transaction.
Peak Re renews Lion Rock Re II sidecar at $77m for 2020
Peak Reinsurance Company Limited (Peak Re), the Hong Kong headquartered global reinsurer that is majority backed by Fosun International, has renewed its ground-breaking Asian sidecar transaction, with a $77 million Lion Rock Re II issuance.
Hannover Re adds nearly $75m more Seaside Re cat bond lites
Hannover Re has added another almost $75 million of risk capital to its Seaside Re private catastrophe bond issues for 2020 through another seven transactions, taking the total issued around this January renewal season to $151.5 million.
Aetna brings eleventh $200m Vitality Re XI health ILS for 2020
Aetna, the health, medical and benefits insurance arm of CVS Health, has returned to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market for its eleventh Vitality Re transaction (Vitality Re XI Ltd. (Series 2020)), as it continues to leverage the capital markets as a source of reinsurance capital.
Stratosphere Re cat bond launched to cover Nephila's primary tail risks
A $100 million Stratosphere Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond will provide a source of reinsurance to cover certain primary insurance tail risks that were underwritten by and for ILS fund manager Nephila Capital.
Liberty Mutual in $50m Limestone Re 2020 reinsurance sidecar transaction
U.S. primary insurer and global re/insurer Liberty Mutual has completed another collateralised reinsurance sidecar placement for 2020, with a $50 million slice of the arrangement now listed on the BSX.
AXIS adds $47.25m of insurance risks to Alturas sidecar for 2020
Global specialist re/insurer AXIS Capital has added another layer to its Alturas Re collateralised sidecar issuance for 2020, with $47.25 million of what look like property catastrophe insurance linked notes issued in two tranches.
Alternative capital flat in Q3 2019, $15bn still trapped, growth to return: Aon
Alternative reinsurance capital for deployment into insurance-linked securities (ILS), collateralised contracts and catastrophe bonds was flat through the third-quarter of the year at $93 billion, but around $15 billion remained trapped at the end of September 2019, Aon believes.
SEC proposal could open up ILS assets to more sophisticated investors
A proposal from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could result in an expanded range of sophisticated investors being able to access and invest in insurance-linked securities (ILS), as the SEC proposes to extend the definition of accredited investor.
Hannover Re's 3264 Re cat bond to grow 50% to $150m
The new international multi-peril 3264 Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond transaction that is being sponsored by global reinsurance firm Hannover Re looks likely to upsize by 50% to become a $150 million issuance.
World Economic Forum eyes risk sharing with catastrophe bonds: Davos 2020
In advance of the WEF’s Davos 2020 meeting, United Nations representative Mark Lowcock, the Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), raised catastrophe bonds and risk transfer to private or capital market investors as a key route towards sharing (transferring) risks.
When Pension Schemes Need Us, We Are There
The 2019 pension de-risking market in the United Kingdom was a record breaker, with several landmark buy-in and buy-out transactions by Rolls-Royce, Telent, Marks and Spencer, and British American Tobacco. In addition, there was an uptick in demand for scheme direct longevity risk transfer to help sophisticated defined benefit (DB) schemes appropriately hibernate their pension plans. The most notable example is The HSBC Bank (UK) Pension Scheme, which executed the second-largest captive longevity reinsurance transaction ever, totaling £7 billion ($8.7 billion) and covering over half their retiree liabilities.
First Eclipse Re private cat bond of 2020 comes to market, a $10m issue
The Horseshoe managed private catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance vehicle Eclipse Re Ltd. has completed its first issuance of 2020, a $10 million Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2020-01A) transaction.
Longevity swap market forecast for record £25bn+ year in 2020
The longevity swap market is forecast to experience record levels of activity in 2020, with availability of reinsurance capacity likely to be a key consideration for pensions looking to offload the risk of their members living longer. Willis Towers Watson says that it expects to see longevity swap volumes surpassing UK £25 billion, which would be more than double the market activity seen in 2019. 2019 saw £12 billion of longevity swaps completed, as well as £41 billion of bulk annuities.
Sun Life announces a $560 million pension risk transfer from Iron Ore Company of Canada
Iron Ore Company of Canada ("IOC"), a majority owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, in its capacity as Plan administrator of its pension plan, executed a buy-in group annuity purchase with Sun Life. The deal, was valued at more than CAD $560 million and covered more than 3,700 retirees and beneficiaries.
American Strategic returns for its second Bonanza Re cat bond
American Strategic Insurance Group has returned to the catastrophe bond market for its second transaction under the Bonanza Re program, with a $100 million Bonanza Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) transaction. American Strategic Insurance Group, a Progressive subsidiary, is seeking an expanded source of collateralised reinsurance from the capital markets with its second Bonanza Re cat bond, covering more perils and over a longer period of time than before.
Stratosphere Re cat bond price drops to cover $100m of Nephila’s tail risk
Issuance of the Stratosphere Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond has now been successfully completed without upsizing at $100 million but at the lowest end of pricing, offering an efficient source of tail-risk protection to the largest ILS fund manager in the market Nephila Capital.
Hannover Re’s 3264 Re cat bond settled at low-end of reduced pricing
At issuance, the upsized by 50% $150 million 3264 Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) international multi-peril catastrophe bond transaction brought to market by global reinsurance firm Hannover Re saw its pricing settle at the bottom-end of already reduced guidance, reflecting a roughly 6% fall while marketin
Swiss Re targets $275m of hurricane & mortality cat bond cover
Swiss Re is back with a second catastrophe bond for 2020, seeking up to $275 million of retrocessional protection with a Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2020-2) transaction that will cover it against certain losses from U.S. named storms and hurricanes, as well as extreme mortality exposures.
The Co-operators and CSS Pension Plan reach longevity insurance deal
The Co-operators assumed the longevity risk for C$660 million of pension plan liabilities from the Co-operative Superannuation Society (CSS) Pension Plan.