World Bank has now facilitated over US $4.8bn in catastrophe bonds
The World Bank has now facilitated and issued over US $4.8 billion in catastrophe bonds across 17 transactions we have covered over the years, with $745 million issued over the course of just a few weeks in 2024 to support Mexico and Jamaica’s disaster risk transfer and financing needs. The most recent catastrophe bonds from […]
Puerto Rico gets $282m parametric cover. Says cat bond “opened door” to capital market
The Government of Puerto Rico’s Autoridad de Asesoría Financiera y Agencia Fiscal (Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority) has secured $282 million of parametric disaster insurance cover, with the recent $85 million Puerto Rico Parametric Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond seen as a key component that opens the door to the capital markets. Puerto Rico […]
Catastrophe bond issuance in 2024 hits $12.1bn, running 29% ahead of prior year
Catastrophe bond new issuance continues apace in 2024 and has reached $12.1 billion including the latest deals to hit the market and settle today, which means the pace of issuance is now running 29% ahead of the prior year, according to the latest data from Artemis. That rate of issuance is particularly notable, especially as […]
Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) lifts ILS investments 40% in 2023
The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP), a large Canadian institutional retirement fund, put additional capital into insurance-linked securities (ILS) in 2023, lifting its investments in the space above US $1 billion for the first time and growing them over 40% year-on-year. A year ago, HOOPP’s annual report showed that the pensions insurance and reinsurance […]
Cat bond market in a healthy position with higher-for-longer collateral returns: Plenum
With catastrophe bond issuance so far in 2024 outpacing prior years and supply and demand dynamics contributing to an increase in spreads in recent weeks, Dirk Schmelzer, Managing Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Plenum Investments, the Zurich-headquartered manager of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and related assets, feels the market is in a very healthy and […]
Puerto Rico Parametric Re cat bond grows to $85m, price set to mid-point
The government of Puerto Rico’s first attempt to source parametric insurance from the capital markets through a catastrophe bond appears to have been well-received by the market, as the Puerto Rico Parametric Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond has grown to $85 million in size and looks set to price at the mid-point of guidance, Artemis […]
UCITS cat bond fund assets near $12.2bn, up more than 11% YTD
The combined assets under management of the main catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have now surpassed $12 billion for the first time ever, nearing $12.2 billion by the end of May 2024 and now having risen by over 11% so far this year. Catastrophe bond funds in the UCITS format have experienced strong […]
Bloomberg: Catastrophe Bond Sales Soar as Markets Brace for Unusually Active Hurricane Season
Issuance of catastrophe bonds just hit a record high, as the market braces for a rough hurricane season with the potential to do substantial damage. Sales of so-called cat bonds are 38% higher this year through May than over the same five-month period in 2023, which was already a record, according to Artemis, a compiler […]
PGGM calls for more data and transparency in the ILS market
PGGM, the Dutch pension investment manager that is the largest single allocator to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market on behalf of end-client pension PFZW, has issued a call for ILS fund managers to provide more data and transparency. Responding to the recent study published by Swiss based alternative asset advisory specialist SIGLO Capital Advisors AG, […]
UBS recommends maintaining ILS exposure, notes weather analysis key at mid-year
UBS Hedge Fund Solutions, a division of UBS Asset Management focused on managing and advising on a range of alternative assets for clients, has recommended maintaining exposure to insurance-linked securities (ILS), but in what could be a nod to hurricane season forecasts, noted that weather analysis is key around the reinsurance renewals this year. It’s […]