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After Hurricane Milton, the Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Total Return Index initially dropped 1.34% but quickly rebounded, ultimately surpassing its pre-storm level by 0.25%. The US Wind Cat Bond Total Return Index, focused on hurricane risks, also recovered most losses, reaching just -0.50% as of October 25th. These indices demonstrate resilience, driven by seasonal returns, and have maintained strong year-to-date performance, with the Global and US Wind indexes up 16.13% and 16.34%, respectively, underscoring the market's stability despite storm impacts.

Attractive nuisances such as swimming pools, playgrounds, and trampolines can increase liability if not managed properly. Property owners must take steps to mitigate risks by installing secure fencing, conducting regular maintenance, enforcing supervision requirements, and ensuring safety protocols are followed.

According to a Moody's Ratings survey, reinsurance buyers are showing a strong preference for catastrophe bonds, with over 80% expecting to use them in the coming year, marking the highest demand in four years. Sidecars are also expected to see elevated demand, while collateralized reinsurance remains attractive but slightly less preferred than the previous year. Despite the shift toward alternative capital markets, buyers still value long-term relationships with traditional reinsurers.

Fitch Ratings expects strong growth in the alternative reinsurance capital market, particularly for catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities (ILS), into 2025, unless significant catastrophe losses occur in the second half of 2024. Investor demand remains high due to attractive returns and limited recent loss activity, with a growing interest in private ILS and collateralized reinsurance.

The property insurance market in 2024 has seen a significant shift towards a buyer's market, with rates steadily decreasing across most asset classes compared to 2023. However, the market remains fragile, with the potential for a major storm or catastrophe event to reverse the current trend, and while most clients are benefiting from better terms and lower rates, some accounts with poor loss performance are still facing challenges.

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) market set new records in the first half of 2024, driven by strong demand from investors and robust catastrophe bond issuance, with over $12.3 billion issued across 49 transactions. Despite heightened catastrophe activity and significant insured losses, the ILS market remained resilient, with minimal impact on outstanding bonds. Swiss Re notes that the cat bond market continues to offer attractive relative value, with strong returns reflecting sustained investor confidence.

Recent mergers and acquisitions in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, such as the Credit Suisse ILS buy-out and the merger of Twelve Capital and Securis Investment Partners, signal strong investor confidence and a desire for scale and competitiveness in offering diverse risk transfer and reinsurance solutions. These moves highlight the health of the ILS market and suggest increasing interest from external investors and asset managers.

AM Best recently shifted its outlook on the global reinsurance market to positive for the first time in history, reflecting improved market conditions and potential profitability. The last significant change was in 2018 when the outlook was upgraded to stable, with no record of a previous positive outlook. This notable change, coinciding with AM Best's 125th anniversary, highlights the enhanced return potential driven by higher pricing and stricter coverage terms in the reinsurance sector, benefiting both traditional reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) markets.

Artemis Update: AM Best has upgraded its outlook on the global reinsurance sector from stable to positive for the first time in over a decade, highlighting robust profit margins and improved underwriting conditions. The rating agency now views insurance-linked securities (ILS) as strategic partners rather than competitors, emphasizing their role in supporting traditional reinsurers. Despite a deceleration in reinsurance pricing, AM Best notes that underwriting discipline and healthy profit margins are expected to be maintained.

Exciting news in the world of finance and risk management! May is set to break records as the biggest month of catastrophe bond issuance ever. According to a recent article from Artemis, the market is experiencing unprecedented growth, highlighting the increasing demand for innovative risk transfer solutions.

In an era where legal malpractice claims are on the rise and the intricacies of law become ever more complex, it’s essential for legal professionals to ensure they are well-protected with professional liability insurance. Our latest article explores the increasing importance of this coverage, particularly focusing on California, where specific types of malpractice claims like negligence and misrepresentation are most prevalent.

Michael A. Rossi, Esq. details the first 25 years of cyber insurance.

Business Insurance Magazine's Cyber Insurance Analytics Summary. Focusing on the market and losses.

The habitational insurance market is facing a multitude of hurdles when it comes to casualty placements. Casualty markets in the habitational space have been adjusting prices due to increased loss activity and the continued impact of social inflation. Within this landscape, property owners, insurance companies, and brokers are confronted with a new reality. There are few markets offering General Liability (GL) coverage. It’s also difficult to find markets willing to participate in the lead $5M of excess coverage, making the marketplace even more challenging. To succeed in this demanding market, one must strike a careful balance between innovation, robust risk assessment, and adaptability.

Senior living facilities remain under pressure from rising costs and staff shortages. Some are looking to reduce expenses through alternative liability insurance. New market entrants may offer lower prices, but is a new carrier the right solution over the long-term?

The REDY Index leverages CRC Group’s collection of actionable data – the wholesale industry’s largest. It provides critical pricing analysis monthly, giving you a snapshot of the marketplace. The REDY Index generates instant intelligence on pricing trends by industry or coverage, enabling our retail partners to set accurate data-driven expectations with their clients.

The REDY Index leverages CRC Group’s collection of actionable data – the wholesale industry’s largest. It provides critical pricing analysis monthly, giving you a snapshot of the marketplace. The REDY Index generates instant intelligence on pricing trends by industry or coverage, enabling our retail partners to set accurate data-driven expectations with their clients

The REDY Index leverages CRC Group’s collection of actionable data – the wholesale industry’s largest. It provides critical pricing analysis monthly, giving you a snapshot of the marketplace. The REDY Index generates instant intelligence on pricing trends by industry or coverage, enabling our retail partners to set accurate data-driven expectations with their clients.

The REDY Index leverages CRC Group’s collection of actionable data – the wholesale industry’s largest. It provides critical pricing analysis monthly, giving you a snapshot of the marketplace. The REDY Index generates instant intelligence on pricing trends by industry or coverage, enabling our retail partners to set accurate data-driven expectations with their clients.

The REDY Index leverages CRC Group’s collection of actionable data – the wholesale industry’s largest. It provides critical pricing analysis monthly, giving you a snapshot of the marketplace. The REDY Index generates instant intelligence on pricing trends by industry or coverage, enabling our retail partners to set accurate data-driven expectations with their clients.

Owning property in California's stunning landscapes comes with its set of challenges. Landlords must contend with areas vulnerable to wildfires, flood-prone coastal zones, and cities that are earthquake hotspots. These natural disasters carry an element of unpredictability, potentially leading to significant financial losses without proper preparation.

The directors’ and officers’ liability environment is always changing, but 2023 was a particularly eventful year, with important consequences for the D&O insurance marketplace. The past year’s many developments also have significant implications for what may lie ahead in 2024 – and possibly for years to come.

Each year, contractors face an increasingly diverse array of exposures and a growing list of options for managing those exposures. A common solution is the transfer of risk via a portfolio of insurance products—but coordinating the purchase of multiple insurance products is often complicated by the inconsistency in coverage terms between different insurers. This is especially true of professional liability policies.

At a time when assets under management (AUM) have been climbing across alternative investment strategies and investors are carefully assessing their allocations and attracted to diversifying assets, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) niche has come out as top performer of the hedge fund world, Preqin has said.

As we kick off 2024, the insurance marketplace continues to experience many of the same highs and lows we encountered in 2023. Some markets are less challenging than others, with a competitive rate environment and more favorable underwriting, while others grapple with one of the most demanding markets we’ve ever seen. While this report is meant to take a high-level snapshot of these conditions, we face the challenge of capturing an ever-evolving marketplace.

Over the last five years, the commercial insurance sector has been contending with a hard marketplace, thus posing difficult conditions for insurance buyers. These conditions were brought on by a variety of factors that motivated many insurance carriers to reassess their positions in the industry. Rest assured, Koru Risk Management is here to provide the risk management solutions and coverage expertise your business needs.

What do over 150 risk managers with portfolios of $100M+ in TIV think of the commercial property risk management landscape? This third annual report outlines their thoughts.

With insurance carriers cutting capacity and substantially increasing premiums, insurance buyers are considering alternatives to their traditional risk management programs. Insurance captives are one of the more popular alternatives to consider, although they are not right for every insurance buyer. The following reasons have contributed to the increased popularity of captives.

Through September 2023, there have been 24 confirmed weather or climate disaster events in the US with losses exceeding $1 billion. This puts the U.S. on pace to exceed any prior annual record number of billion-dollar disaster events.

Over the past three years the cyber insurance market has experienced both unprecedented growth and substantial changes to its underwriting approach in an effort to respond to the changing cyber threat landscape. This report summarized the important issues and path ahead.

As we step into 2023, employers are facing a rapidly evolving landscape when it comes to offering employee benefits. The global pandemic has accelerated shifts in workplace dynamics, healthcare, and employee expectations. In this article, we'll explore the top five challenges that employers are likely to encounter when offering employee benefits in 2023.

Cyber and Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance are essential tools for mitigating liability, each offering unique and sometimes intersecting protections. Cyber insurance safeguards businesses from various cyber-related risks, while D&O insurance shields corporate leaders and, at times, the company itself, from claims linked to alleged misconduct indecision-making and management.

Senior living and long-term care facilities (aka communities) are subject to various factors that continually evolve and impact their operations.

For airplane owners, the skies aren't always clear. One particular cloud that often looms is the renewal of commercial hull insurance. While this insurance serves as a vital safety net, protecting the physical structure of the aircraft, the renewal process can often be as challenging as navigating through a storm. This article aims to shed light on the complexities airplane owners face during the renewal phase of commercial hull insurance.

Section 125, also known as a cafeteria plan, provides employers and employees with valuable tax advantages for offering and participating in certain employee benefit programs. While these plans can be highly beneficial, they come with complex reporting requirements that, if not handled correctly, can lead to costly pitfalls for companies. In this article, we'll delve into the potential challenges that companies may face when filing Section 125 reporting.

In the competitive landscape of today's job market, attracting and retaining top talent is a mission-critical objective for businesses of all sizes and industries. Beyond just competitive salaries, employees are increasingly considering the comprehensive benefits package offered by potential employers when making career decisions. In this article, we will explore why employee benefits are not just an added perk but a crucial factor in hiring and retaining talented employees.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) has been a fundamental piece of legislation in the United States, ensuring that employees have the option to continue their employer-sponsored health coverage after certain qualifying events. In recent times, several significant changes have been made to COBRA that impact both employers and employees. In this article, we'll explore these recent changes and discuss what employers need to know.

Senior living and long-term care facilities respond to many patients’ needs. However, these properties are still a business at the end of the day.

For several consecutive quarters, reinsurance costs have increased, and capacity has diminished, making 1-1-23 renewals very difficult for insurers.

Recent market developments have demonstrated signs of an improving commercial insurance landscape.