July 2013/1

Claire Souch, vice president of Model Solutions at RMS, explains the vision behind the RMS(one) platform and what changes the company believes it can make to ILS fund managers and reinsurer underwriting teams

Assurant sourced a fifth of its per-event reinsurance programme from the capital markets as it expanded the cover by 20 percent at the 1 July renewals

Australian insurer Suncorp renewed its $5bn catastrophe reinsurance treaty at a risk-adjusted rate reduction of around 5 percent, sister publication The Insurance Insider reported

The liquidators of tornado cat bond Mariah Re have sued sponsor American Family Mutual Insurance and service companies PCS and AIR Worldwide, claiming that the trio conspired to bring about a $100mn payout of the bond based on a falsified loss report.

Natural catastrophe events caused some $13bn of insured losses in the first half of 2013, just over half the 10-year H1 average of $22bn, according to new Munich Re NatCat estimates

Cat bond sponsors used Property Claims Services (PCS) data on seven new issuances worth $1.6bn in the first half of 2013, which was in line with volumes placed in the first half of 2012.

A battle to maintain market share at the 1 July renewals kept up pricing pressure on US property catastrophe reinsurance business, according to the major brokers

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cleared a trade of 750 seasonal hurricane options representing $7.5mn of notional limit in May in the first deal to date in 2013, according to information from the exchange.

2013 is shaping up to be the strongest year for cat bond activity in six years, with a record-breaking $4bn of new issuance having been brought to market by the end of June - topping the $3.8bn issued in the first half of 2007

Trading Risk's list of investors in the ILS market

Montpelier Re's listed Blue Capital Global Reinsurance fund has been picked as a favourite by JP Morgan Cazenove analyst Matthew Hose because of the resources provided by its parent company.

Brokers have increased their grip on cat bond distribution in the past couple of years, according to statistics compiled by Trading Risk