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Munich Re traces high first-half loss level
The current year is shaping up to be one of the most devastating ever in terms of fatalities and numbers of people affected by catastrophe, Munich Re said in a recent note on the loss record of the first six months of 2008.
The earthquake in..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
GeoVera pulls IPO plans for second time
Insurance group GeoVera, a specialist in providing earthquake cover and other special property lines, has cancelled for the second time in a year its plans for an initial public offering (IPO), blaming unattractive market conditions. The company..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Alm Brand discloses current cat protections
Danish insurer Alm Brand reported it has DKr4.4bn ($940m) of windstorm protection with a retention of DKr150m for 2008.
The company puts its one-in-100 year windstorm loss at DKr250m, consisting of the retention and reinstatement premium of the..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Cat fund concept appeals to New Jersey
New Jersey is one of several US states looking at pools or state-backed funds to help cope with high catastrophic loss exposure. Last month, Senator Stephen Sweeney reintroduced a bill that would lead to the creation of the New Jersey Catastrophe..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Florida companies revise reinsurance plans
Insurers with a high exposure to the market in Florida have been rejigging their cat programmes.
Assurant reported it had secured higher levels of reinsurance cover to support its growth while maintaining storm deductibles at last year’s..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Citizens buys High Risk Account reinsurance
Florida’s residual market insurer Citizens Property has been active in both the reinsurance and financial markets in an attempt to ensure it can cope with the possibility of extreme catastrophic events.
The insurer’s board has approved..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Cat Fund eschews reinsurance for Berkshire
Florida’s State Board of Administration (SBA), controller of the local Cat Fund, has approved a controversial put option provided by Berkshire Hathaway to address post-event liquidity for the fund rather than buy full risk transfer from the..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Changes
Ace has appointed Matthew Shaw as chief underwriter of Ace Global Markets and chairman of Ace Tempest Re Europe, where he was previously managing director. Andreas Lewin succeeds him as managing director of Ace Tempest Re Europe.
The Weather Risk..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Fairfax benefits from credit default purchase
Insurance organizations are a conservative bunch as far as investment policy is concerned, for the sound reason that they never know when they will need a large amount of cash to pay claims in the event of a catastrophic loss. A handful of players,..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Bond insurers struggle in uncharted territory
It has been another month of dramatic developments for the financial guarantee sector, and we present a brief summary of some of the more important news.
Triad Guaranty Insurance Co stopped underwriting last month after negotiations to form a new..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
News in brief
FASB stops work on risk transfer project
US accounting standards setter the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has closed its project on insurance risk transfer, preferring to devote its efforts to insurance projects that are in harmony..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Harbor Point 2007
Bermudian reinsurance group Harbor Point Re produced increased net profit of $161.2m last year, up from $79.4m in 2006, its first full year of trading. Harbor Point wrote a larger gross account last year but ceded a greater proportion to..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR) 2007
France’s state-backed reinsurer, Caisse Centrale de Réassurance (CCR), produced another strong performance last year, recording a large increase in net profit for both guaranteed and open market accounts.
The reinsurer’s main role..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
World Bank uses Malawi as weather test
Malawi should be the first country to take advantage of a new service that will see the World Bank act as an intermediary between poorer nations and commercial providers of weather derivatives.
Under the first, small deal under the programme, the..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Japan readies derivatives for Asian farmers
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), a financial aid body, is working with the Thai Bank for Agriculture & Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to develop and promote weather derivatives to help farming interests in Thailand.
The..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Florida and Gulf Coast join IFEX range
The Insurance Futures Exchange Services (IFEX) has extended its suite of products to include wind event linked futures for Florida and states on the Gulf Coast of the US. The new contracts are now traded on the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange,..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Glacier Re returns to Nelson for peak cat cover
The second risk securitization issue under the Nelson Re shelf programme provides sponsor Glacier Re with $180m of indemnity-based protection that sits on top of the parametric structure of last year’s first issue.
European reinsurance..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Alternative cover can help developing nations
Natural disaster costs are rising in both the developed and undeveloped world, but innovative insurance-related products can address the challenges that a variety of countries now face.
A new report by Swiss Re notes that global average insured cat..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Pandemic risk needs wider capital solution
Capital market products rather than traditional reinsurance are more likely to provide a solution to the real risk posed by a pandemic, according to GC Securities in a new report.
“Traditional reinsurance is not equipped to cover the large..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Caelus deal protects Nationwide’s US account
US insurance group Nationwide Mutual has secured $250m in indemnity-based protection from SPV Caelus Re. The notes are exposed to losses incurred following first and subsequent US hurricanes and earthquakes, including fire following quake..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Rating agencies study risk securitization deals
Difficulties experienced by the financial guarantee companies are having an impact on the rating of various notes used in risk securitization deals. This month, rating agency AM Best downgraded the debt rating of Northwind Holdings and Tailwind..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Portfolio platform aids cat risk management
Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has launched a new portfolio management platform, Miu, which supports the trading of insurance risk that uses the firm’s cat risk analytics. Miu will allow users to quantify and tailor a portfolio of cat risk..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Man Group buys a stake in Nephila Capital
Alternative investment concern Man Group has paid $50m to buy a 25% stake in Nephila Capital, a Bermudian alternative risk transfer company that specializes in insurance linked securities and weather risk management products.
Nephila was formed..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Amlin joint venture chooses Leadenhall name
The insurance linked securities (ILS) investment joint venture between Amlin and former Swiss Re executives Luca Albertini and John Wells, recently named Leadenhall Capital Partners, is aiming to secure licensing from the UK’s Financial..
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01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Swiss Re’s Vega uses reserve account buffer
Swiss Re has arranged $150m in securitized protection for a variety of perils over the next three years using an innovative programme, called Vega Capital, that features a reserve account to protect investors.
The deal will provide the..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008
Soft market hinders ILS
Surplus capital and considerable rate softening in the traditional insurance and reinsurance sector have had an inevitable impact on the level of risk securitization transactions in 2008 so far, but there are sufficient signs to indicate that..
Online Published Date:
01 July 2008
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202 - 01 July 2008