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Achmea looks to upsize its Windmill II Re cat bond by 25%
Achmea looks to upsize its Windmill II Re cat bond by 25%
European insurer Achmea is hoping to increase the size of its new Windmill II Re DAC (2020) catastrophe bond transaction by as much as 25%, with the offering now targeting up to EUR 100 million (US $113m) of reinsurance protection for the company.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Achmea looks to upsize its Windmill II Re cat bond by 25%
Avatar's Casablanca Re cat bond term shortened to one-year
Avatar's Casablanca Re cat bond term shortened to one-year
The term of Avatar Property and Casualty Insurance Company’s latest catastrophe bond was shortened to one year just before its issuance, as the insurer settled for a single year of reinsurance coverage from the $65 million Casablanca Re Pte. Ltd. (Series 2020-1) transaction.
#ART#ILS#CAT#UnitedStates
·artemis.bm·
Avatar's Casablanca Re cat bond term shortened to one-year
ILS funds shift to more remote layers & tighter terms in hard(er) market
ILS funds shift to more remote layers & tighter terms in hard(er) market
As well as enhancing their returns thanks to rising pricing, insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund managers are seeking to capitalise on the hardening reinsurance and retrocession market in a number of other ways that could result in their portfolios delivering better returns and becoming less volatile.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
ILS funds shift to more remote layers & tighter terms in hard(er) market
Blue Halo Re cat bond target lifted again to $175m by Allianz ART
Blue Halo Re cat bond target lifted again to $175m by Allianz ART
The target size for Allianz Risk Transfer’s (ART) new Blue Halo Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) catastrophe bond transaction has been lifted again, with the deal now aiming to secure up to $175 million of retrocession for the firm’s portfolio and some of the tail risks related to the ILS fronting it undertakes. Also, the pricing has moved towards the upper-end of guidance.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Blue Halo Re cat bond target lifted again to $175m by Allianz ART
Achmea aims for reduced Windmill II Re cat bond pricing
Achmea aims for reduced Windmill II Re cat bond pricing
European insurer Achmea is aiming to secure slightly lower than anticipated pricing for its new  Windmill II Re DAC (2020) catastrophe bond transaction, with the upsized EUR 100 million deal potentially set to come in with a slightly lower coupon now.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Achmea aims for reduced Windmill II Re cat bond pricing
We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn't We?
We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn't We?
Pandemic insurance would have shifted at least some of COVID-19's economic costs onto investors who had willingly taken on the risk. But pandemic insurance policies are bot a panacea. There will be small businesses priced out of coverage, insurers who exploit every loophole to avoid claims, and corporate executives who enrich themselves and not their workers when they do receive payments. For example, the $425 million World Bank “pandemic bond” issued in 2017 has been criticized for failing to pay out quickly enough, and having needlessly complex triggers.
#ART#ILS#CAT#Mortality#Pandemic
·wired.com·
We Can Protect the Economy From Pandemics. Why Didn't We?
2019 Global Health Security Index found huge gaps in preparedness for epidemics and pandemics
2019 Global Health Security Index found huge gaps in preparedness for epidemics and pandemics
The 2019 Global Health Security Index assessment suggested that not a single country in the world is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic. The average overall 2019 GHS Index score was slightly over 40%, and among the 60 highest-income countries assessed, the average score was 52%. Fewer than five percent of countries score in the highest tier in rapid response to and mitigation of spread of an epidemic. Having a sufficient and robust health sector to treat the sick and protect health workers was the lowest-scoring category (26.4). https://www.ghsindex.org/
#ART#ILS#CAT#Mortality#Pandemic
·sciencedaily.com·
2019 Global Health Security Index found huge gaps in preparedness for epidemics and pandemics
The best way to manage a DB Scheme (Keating & Clacher)
The best way to manage a DB Scheme (Keating & Clacher)
Pension scheme liabilities should be calaculated as either the accrued value of contributions, or the discounted present value of the projected best estimate of the ultimate benefits using the contractual accrual rate. The scheme should be funded to the level of liabilities calculated in this manner, with assets being valued using market prices. However, this leaves the scheme exposed to the risk of sponsor insolvency when this level of funding is insufficient to purchase equivalent benefits in the open market or alternately, to run off the scheme. There is a solution to this risk – pension indemnity assurance; a specialised form of long term credit insurance.
#Pensions#ART#Longevity
·henrytapper.com·
The best way to manage a DB Scheme (Keating & Clacher)
Achmea gets 25% larger Windmill II Re cat bond at 11% reduction in pricing
Achmea gets 25% larger Windmill II Re cat bond at 11% reduction in pricing
European insurance group Achmea has successfully priced its new  Windmill II Re DAC (2020) catastrophe bond transaction at the 25% upsized target of EUR 100 million and with the coupon pricing reduced by 11% over the course of the deal’s marketing.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Achmea gets 25% larger Windmill II Re cat bond at 11% reduction in pricing
First private cat bond issued from GC / MMC's Isosceles ILS platform
First private cat bond issued from GC / MMC's Isosceles ILS platform
Marsh & McLennan Companies and reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter operated Isosceles Insurance Limited transformer and segregated cell structure has issued a single tranche featuring $16.445 million of Series 2020-A1 private ILS notes in a private placement to qualified investors. This is the first private insurance-linked securities (ILS) arrangement or catastrophe bond from the Isosceles platform.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
First private cat bond issued from GC / MMC's Isosceles ILS platform
MetLife enters UK longevity reinsurance market with PIC transaction
MetLife enters UK longevity reinsurance market with PIC transaction
Metlife has entered the longevity reinsurance market in the United Kingdom, providing a longevity risk transfer arrangement for regular market participant Pension Insurance Corporation, to cover the longevity risk associated with roughly £280 million of pension liabilities for PIC.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·artemis.bm·
MetLife enters UK longevity reinsurance market with PIC transaction
Pensions superfunds given go-ahead in ‘tough’ security regime
Pensions superfunds given go-ahead in ‘tough’ security regime
The UK Pensions Regulator has approved a contentious system that will give companies a new way to offload the promises they have made to retirees. The new system will allow several defined benefit schemes to be collected together into so-called pensions superfunds. Supporters say these superfunds will offer employers and trustees more choice about what they do with their pension schemes. But critics say they will offer less security for scheme members compared with the alternative of passing the scheme to an insurance company. Deals with insurance companies are more expensive for scheme sponsors, because the insurers must comply with the EU’s strict Solvency II capital regulations. Insurers say this makes them more secure than superfunds.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions#Regulation
·ft.com·
Pensions superfunds given go-ahead in ‘tough’ security regime
Apollo / Athene’s ACRA sidecar funds 63% of $27bn Pru reinsurance transaction
Apollo / Athene’s ACRA sidecar funds 63% of $27bn Pru reinsurance transaction
Apollo Global Management has put its third-party capitalised sidecar vehicle for life and retirement investment opportunities, the Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate (ACRA), to good use in completing a massive $27 billion fixed annuity block reinsurance transaction and investment in a subsidiary of Prudential plc.
#ART#Longevity#Reinsurance
·artemis.bm·
Apollo / Athene’s ACRA sidecar funds 63% of $27bn Pru reinsurance transaction
2020 set to be a record-breaking year for longevity swaps - DB & Derisking
2020 set to be a record-breaking year for longevity swaps - DB & Derisking
Demand for longevity swaps is expected to set new records in 2020, reflecting in part a slight slowdown in the bulk annuity market, according to a report by Willis Towers Watson. Though typically very few longevity swap deals are completed each year, 2020 is on track to see transactions worth as much as £25bn.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·pensions-expert.com·
2020 set to be a record-breaking year for longevity swaps - DB & Derisking
Swiss Re lifts upper target for Matterhorn Re cat bond to $275m
Swiss Re lifts upper target for Matterhorn Re cat bond to $275m
Global reinsurance firm Swiss Re has raised the upper-end target for its latest catastrophe bond, with the Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2020-4)  transaction now aiming to secure as much as $275 million of capital markets backed retrocession for the sponsor.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Swiss Re lifts upper target for Matterhorn Re cat bond to $275m
Unipol sponsoring new €100m Azzurro Re II European quake cat bond
Unipol sponsoring new €100m Azzurro Re II European quake cat bond
UnipolSai Assicurazioni S.p.A., the Italian primary insurance company, has returned to the catastrophe bond market to sponsor a new European earthquake catastrophe bond, with an Azzurro Re II DAC (Series 2020-1) transaction that targets at least EUR 100 million of reinsurance protection against quake losses for the insurers’ Italian portfolio.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Unipol sponsoring new €100m Azzurro Re II European quake cat bond
BoE governor reignites row between superfunds, insurers and regulators
BoE governor reignites row between superfunds, insurers and regulators
In an intervention which laid bare a deep divide both in the industry and between regulators, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reignited a long-running feud between traditional insurers and advocates of new superfund models, while casting doubt on the Pensions Regulator’s ability to oversee consolidators. The U.K. PRA’s position, backed by the insurance sector, was that the capital regime for superfunds should mirror the strict standards by which insurance companies have to abide, yet TPR’s interim guidance conveys a different view.
#ART#Pensions#Longevity#SuperFunds
·pensions-expert.com·
BoE governor reignites row between superfunds, insurers and regulators
Swiss Re's latest Matterhorn Re cat bond to settle at $240m
Swiss Re's latest Matterhorn Re cat bond to settle at $240m
Global reinsurance company Swiss Re has now successfully secured $240 million of retrocession from its latest Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2020-4)  catastrophe bond transaction, taking the firm’s total cat bond coverage under the program to $1.31 billion.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Swiss Re's latest Matterhorn Re cat bond to settle at $240m
Munich Re provides £1bn longevity swap for Willis Pension Scheme
Munich Re provides £1bn longevity swap for Willis Pension Scheme
Munich Re has completed a £1 billion longevity swap arrangement for the Willis Pension Scheme, in a longevity hedging deal that covers some 3,500 pension scheme members. It used a Guernsey based captive insurer that is fully owned by the Trustee of the Pension Scheme, established under Willis Towers Watson Guernsey ICC Limited, the brokers incorporated cell company structure. The “ready made” incorporated cell company enables efficient and more direct access to the reinsurance market, without the need for a third-party insurance carrier to intermediate the deal.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·artemis.bm·
Munich Re provides £1bn longevity swap for Willis Pension Scheme
Convex enters cat bond market with $150m Hypatia multi-peril deal
Convex enters cat bond market with $150m Hypatia multi-peril deal
Convex Group, the specialty insurance and reinsurance company founded by Stephen Catlin, is sponsoring its first catastrophe bond transaction, bringing a $150 million Hypatia Ltd. (Series 2020-1) multi-peril retro transaction to market.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Convex enters cat bond market with $150m Hypatia multi-peril deal
Pension superfunds could hinder insurers’ businesses
Pension superfunds could hinder insurers’ businesses
UK pension superfunds could encroach on life insurers’ bulk purchase annuity market, as the new consolidation vehicles may present employers with a more affordable alternative. Superfunds are vehicles that replace the reliance on the sponsoring employers with a capital buffer supplied by external investors. The Pensions Regulator’s interim guidance targets a one-in-100 risk of failure to pay benefits promised to scheme members in full. This is less stringent than the Solvency II regime for insurers, which is calibrated to a one-in-200 risk of failure. Buy-ins, where pension costs are transferred to an insurer but the pension scheme trustees retain legal and administrative responsibilities, are most likely to be affected. Buyouts, where all costs and responsibilities are transferred, should not be affected as schemes capable of achieving a buyout – the gold standard for transferring pension liabilities – should be outside the scope of superfunds. https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/media-hub/press-releases/2020-press-releases/tpr-launches-tough-new-interim-regime-for-emerging-superfund-pension-market
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·pensions-expert.com·
Pension superfunds could hinder insurers’ businesses
UK TPR launches tough new interim regime for emerging superfund pension market
UK TPR launches tough new interim regime for emerging superfund pension market
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has unveiled the high bar it expects new superfunds to meet to ensure savers in defined benefit (DB) schemes are protected ahead of Government legislation. The new guidance, which comes into force immediately, sets out TPR’s expectations for how DB consolidator superfunds and other new models must show they are well-governed, run by fit and proper people and are backed by adequate capital. It also explains how they will be assessed and regulated.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·thepensionsregulator.gov.uk·
UK TPR launches tough new interim regime for emerging superfund pension market
One in five UK schemes considering superfunds
One in five UK schemes considering superfunds
The Pensions Regulator’s interim guidance for consolidators has sparked a surge of interest by pension schemes, with one in five considering superfunds as an option for their endgame, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·pensions-expert.com·
One in five UK schemes considering superfunds
UK House of Lords commit TPR to preserving open DB schemes
UK House of Lords commit TPR to preserving open DB schemes
The UK House of Lords has amended the pension schemes bill to ensure that open defined benefit schemes are not forced to derisk their investments in the same way as closed plans, in one of four defeats suffered by the government. The amendment is designed to preserve the ability of open DB schemes to pursue higher-risk, more volatile investments than the fixed income-heavy portfolios employed by closed plans, typically involving an increased allocation to the equity risk premium. By pursuing a higher long-term return, a greater discount rate can be applied to the cost of funding future accrual, preserving affordability for employers.
#ART#Longevity#Pensions
·pensions-expert.com·
UK House of Lords commit TPR to preserving open DB schemes
Solid issuance as catastrophe bond market performs in time of crisis: Q2 2020 Report
Solid issuance as catastrophe bond market performs in time of crisis: Q2 2020 Report
The market for catastrophe bonds and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) once again demonstrated its resilience in the second-quarter of 2020, as despite the uncertain environment created by Covid-19, issuance of new cat bonds and ILS reached $3.76 billion according to the latest report and data from Artemis.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Solid issuance as catastrophe bond market performs in time of crisis: Q2 2020 Report
Sempra Energy's SD Re 2020-1 wildfire cat bond may upsize to $90m
Sempra Energy's SD Re 2020-1 wildfire cat bond may upsize to $90m
Electrical utility Sempra Energy is seeking to upsize its second catastrophe bond, with the SD Re Ltd. (Series 2020-1) transaction now targeting a $90 million source of California wildfire insurance protection from the capital markets for the company.
#ART#ILS#CAT
·artemis.bm·
Sempra Energy's SD Re 2020-1 wildfire cat bond may upsize to $90m
S&P takes Vita Capital VI mortality bond off negative watch as Covid-19 outlook improves
S&P takes Vita Capital VI mortality bond off negative watch as Covid-19 outlook improves
The first CAT bond rating action caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has now been resolved and reverted, as S&P Global Ratings affirmed Swiss Re’s late 2015 Vita Capital VI Limited (Series 2015-1) transaction and removed it from a negative watch. The mortality CAT bond which featured a single $100 million tranche of Class A notes issued by Vita Capital VI Ltd., one of only a handful still in-force at the time of the pandemic, had its ‘BB (sf)’ rating placed on CreditWatch with negative implications by S&P at the beginning of April. With the risk period set to end on December 31st 2020 and due to the fact mortality from the pandemic has affected older age groups the worst, and these only contribute a small proportion to the mortality index value calculation for the Vita Capital cat bond, and deaths stabilising in the UK, S&P feels the risk of this mortality cat bond being triggered has now greatly reduced.
#ART#CAT#Mortality#Pandemic#Ratings
·artemis.bm·
S&P takes Vita Capital VI mortality bond off negative watch as Covid-19 outlook improves