1) Q4 2015 Catastrophe
Bond & ILS Market Report
Outright market growth continues
ARTEMIS
Focused on insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds,
alternative reinsurance capital and related risk transfer markets.
CO- EDITOR:
www.artemis.bm
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3) INTRO
This report reviews the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked
securities (ILS) market at the end of 2015, looking at new risk capital
issued during the fourth-quarter, the composition of transactions
completed and also a brief review of the full-year 2015.
Despite being one of the quietest fourth-quarters of the last decade,
catastrophe bond and ILS issuance remained strong, totalling $1.525
billion, according to the Artemis Deal Directory. Q4 is usually a fairly active
period for cat bond and ILS transactions, and while no deals came to the
market during November, more than $1 billion of issuance during the final
month of the year helped take full-year issuance for 2015 to $7.841 billion.
The $1.525 billion of risk capital issued during the quarter came from six deals,
which, excluding 2008 when no deals came to market during Q4, is the joint
lowest number of transactions witnessed during a Q4 over the last decade, as
recorded by the Artemis Deal Directory.
The fourth-quarter of 2015 alone failed to break any records, but strong
investor appetite and the solid level of issuance witnessed throughout the
year continued. As a result the size of the outstanding catastrophe bond and
ILS market at the end of 2015 reached an impressive $25.903 billion, the
highest level ever recorded in the Artemis Deal Directory.
Artemis is the leading, freely accessible source of timely, relevant and
authoritative news, analysis, insight and data on the insurance-linked
securities, catastrophe bond, alternative reinsurance capital and related
risk transfer markets. The Artemis Deal Directory is the leading, freely
available source of information, data and analysis on issued catastrophe
bond and insurance-linked securitization transactions.
4) Transaction Recap
The fourth-quarter of 2015 saw a diverse range of perils brought to market, mostly
from returning sponsors but one new catastrophe bond sponsor did enter the
sector. A total of six deals came to market, featuring eight tranches of notes and
amounting to $1.525 billion of risk capital issued. For the first time this year no cat
bond lites were issued during the quarter, which has been a growing force of the
market in previous months.
The only new cat bond and ILS sponsor witnessed during Q4 was Amtrak, with
its $275 million PennUnion Re transaction, which utilised the capital markets for
insurance protection against U.S. storm surge, wind, and earthquakes. Everest Re
returned with its latest offering from its Kilimanjaro Re platform, this was also
the largest cat bond of the quarter, at $625 million. USAA, one of the most prolific
cat bond sponsors ever, returned to secure a further $125 million of reinsurance
protection against multiple U.S. perils.
Zenkyoren brought some Japanese earthquake risk to the cat bond market during
the fourth-quarter, with its fourth issuance under its Nakama Re platform, sized at
$300 million. The other $200 million of risk capital issued during the quarter came
from returning sponsors Swiss Re and Munich Re, via their Vita Capital and Queen
Street issuance platforms, respectively. Swiss Re provided investors with $100
million of extreme mortality risks, while Munich Re added some U.S. hurricane and
Australian cyclone diversification to Q4 2015 issuance.
ISSUER / TRANCHE
SPONSOR
PERILS
SIZE ($M)
DATE
Nakama Re Ltd.
(Series 2015-1)
Zenkyoren
Japan earthquake
300
Dec
Vita Capital VI Limited
(Series 2015-1)
Swiss Re
Extreme mortality
100
Dec
Queen Street XI Re dac
Munich Re
U.S. hurricane, Australia cyclone
100
Dec
Residential Reinsurance
2015 Ltd. (Series 2015-2)
USAA
U.S. multi-peril
125
Dec
Kilimanjaro Re Ltd.
(Series 2015-1)
Everest Re
U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, D.C.
named storm and earthquake
625
Dec
PennUnion Re Ltd.
(Series 2015-1)
Amtrak
U.S. named storm wind & surge,
U.S. earthquake
275
Oct
5) Q4 ILS issuance by year ($M)
The fourth-quarter of 2015 saw $1.525 billion of catastrophe bond and ILS risk capital
issued, falling below the ten-year average of $1.7 billion. Data from the Artemis Deal
Directory shows that Q4 2015 was actually the quietest final quarter since 2009.
2500
Q4
2250
2000
1750
1500
1250
1000
750
500
250
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
ILS average transaction size & number of transactions by year ($M)
The average transaction size recorded in the Artemis Deal Directory in Q4 2015 was $254
million, which is $52 million higher than the ten-year average. Despite the number of
transactions issued during the quarter being the joint lowest of the last decade, at six, the
average transaction size recorded in Q4 is actually the second highest of the last ten-years.
350
Q4
Avg. Size
Transactions 13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
6) Number of transactions and volume issued by month ($M)
Cat bond and ILS issuance started very slowly during the fourth-quarter of the
year, with Amtrak’s $275 million deal being the only transaction prior to December.
However, returning sponsors, including Everest Re’s largest Kilimanjaro Re issuance
to date, at $625 million, helped issuance again exceed $1 billion during Q4.
$ millions
Transactions
1500
5
1250
4
1000
3
750
2
500
1
250
0
0
Oct - 15
Nov - 15
Dec - 15
Q4 issuance by month & year
Examining Q4 cat bond and ILS issuance by month reveals that, as is typical during the
period, December saw the highest volume of issuance. In fact, after March and May,
December was the third month of the year to see issuance surpass the $1 billion mark.
Issuance in October was limited during 2015, and for the third time in the last decade,
no deals came to market during the month of November.
2000
Avg
Oct
Nov
1500
1000
500
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Dec
7) Q4 2015 ILS issuance by trigger type
The fourth-quarter of 2015 saw a diversified range of ILS trigger structures utilised
by sponsors. For the first time this year, indemnity triggers failed to dominate
issuance during the quarter, with only 28%, or $425 million of risk capital issued
structured on an indemnity basis.
Mortality index
Parametric
Industry loss index
Industry loss index
and modelled
industry loss index
Indemnity
Just under half of issuance during the fourth-quarter utilised an industry loss index
trigger, with the majority coming from the $625 million Kilimanjaro Re transaction
from Everest Re, while Munich Re’s Queen Street brought some modelled industry
loss to market as well. First time sponsor Amtrak brought $275 million of parametric
structured trigger to the market via its PennUnion Re deal. Swiss Re’s latest Vita
Capital cat bond provided some mortality index trigger diversification, while
Zenkyoren and USAA provided the $425 million of indemnity protection.
8) Q4 2015 ILS issuance by peril
Looking at Q4 2015 cat bond and ILS issuance by peril shows that international multi-peril
coverage, which includes the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Puerto Rico, dominated issuance.
Continuing the trend witnessed in Q3 2015 and in line with Q4 last year, there were no pure
U.S. wind or hurricane transactions in the quarter.
Extreme mortality
Japanese earthquake
U.S. multi-peril
International multi-peril
Cat bonds issued in the quarter did provide some protection against U.S. wind risks,
although these deals also contained other perils. Similarly, transactions that covered
U.S. earthquake exposures during the quarter also sat alongside other perils. Zenkyoren
returned to the market with its latest Nakama Re issuance, providing $300 million of
protection against Japanese earthquake risks.
While Swiss Re’s latest Vita Capital transaction provided investors with some
welcomed diversification during the fourth-quarter of 2015, with $100 million of
protection against extreme mortality exposures.
9) Q4 2015 ILS issuance by expected loss
The majority of catastrophe bonds issued during the final quarter of the year had an
expected loss of above 2%, signalling that perhaps investors are willing to take on
slightly more risk than this time last year, when more than half of issuance had an EL
of less than 0.49%. It also reflects investor demand for higher returns, which require
higher expected losses to be assumed. The riskiest issue of the quarter was the Class D
tranche of Kilimanjaro Re notes from Everest Re, the only tranche that had an expected
loss of above 4%. The two lowest risk notes came from Swiss Re with Vita Capital, and
the Class 2 tranche of Nakama Re notes, which both had an expected loss below 1%.
v
v
44%
0.50%-1.99%
36%
2% - 4%
20%
4.01% +
Q4 2015 ILS issuance by coupon pricing
With expected losses of issued cat bonds during Q4 being higher than a year earlier, it’s no surprise
that the yields on offer followed a similar trend. The majority of coupons, 56%, on offer during
the fourth-quarter would pay investors more than 6.01%, compared to just 29% in the previous
year. Roughly a quarter of issuance during the fourth-quarter of 2015 paid investors a coupon of
between 2.01% to 4%, compared to more than half, 52%, during the same period last year.
v
8
26%
2.01% - 4%
18%
36%
4.01% - 6%
6.01% - 8%
20%
8.01% +
10) US Natural Perils $40B (LHS) plotted against
Guy Carpenter ILW portfolio Oct 14 - Sep 15 (RHS)
Guy Carpenter estimates the outstanding notional value of the ILW market at US$4.25bn.
During the middle of 2015 there was an unprecedented surge in demand for Florida and
US wind exposed capacity, which resulted in a hardening of pricing by up to 20% and the
exhaustion of supply from the usual sources of capacity. Demand and pricing for other
worldwide perils remained stable during the year.
The graph below shows the seasonality of ILW’s purchased during 2015 and the uplift in
pricing for US All Natural Perils coverage attaching at an industry loss level of US$40bn.
16.0
%
35
15.5
30
29.81%
15.0
14.5
25
14.0
13.5
20
19.60%
18.66%
13.0
15
12.5
12.05%
12.0
10
11.5
8.37%
11.0
2.04%
3.27%
2.74%
5
2.65 %
0.82%
5
g1
Au
15
Jul
15
Jun
5
y1
Ma
5
r1
Ap
5
r1
Ma
Feb
15
15
Jan
4
c1
De
No
v1
4
t1
4
Oc
0%
15
0%
10.0
Sep
10.5
0
11) Guy Carpenter ILW Portfolio
Another interesting dynamic of the ILW market during 2015 was the increasing
activity amongst the ILS fund management community using the ILW product to
hedge their peak peril catastrophe exposure. Guy Carpenter and its securities affiliate
GC Securities have been able to support this demand from ILS fund managers in both
traditional reinsurance and ISDA Swap form.
%
100
Fund
Traditional
95%
91%
79%
75%
70%
5%
9%
21%
25%
30%
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
GC Securities, is a division of MMC Securities Corp., member FINRA/NFA/SIPC, main office: 1166 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10036, phone: 212.345.5000. MMC Securities Corp. and Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC are
affiliates and wholly owned by Marsh & McLennan Companies.
12) Pricing multiples of Q4 2015 issuance
The average multiple (price coupon divided by expected loss) of Q4 2015’s cat
bond and ILS issuance was 2.34 on an annualised basis. This is lower than the
average multiple for the full-year (2.46), based on all deals we have data for, and
below the average multiple witnessed during the fourth-quarter of last year.
The average multiple moderately decreased throughout 2015, signalling that in a
competitive and challenging market, perhaps investors are willing to take on more
risk at a lower return. However, ILS investor discipline was evident during Q4, as
half the deals during the quarter priced at, or above the mid-point of initial price
guidance, with the other half falling only slightly below, suggesting investors
would only be pushed so far on pricing.
Expected Loss
10
Pricing
Multiple
8
6
4
2
Re
ial
ent
sid
Re
Pen
nU
(Se nion
ries Re
20 Ltd.
15
-1)
ins
ura
nc
(Se e 20
ries 15
20 Ltd.
15
-2)
Kili
(Se
ma
ries
20 njaro
15
-1) Re L
Cla td.
ss
D
(Se Kilim
ries
a
20 njaro
15
-1) Re Lt
d
Cla
ss .
E
dac
Re
XI
eet
Str
een
Qu
Ca
pit
(Se al VI L
ries
im
20 ited
15
-1)
Vita
Na
ka
15 ma R
e
-1)
Cla Ltd.
ss
2
20
ries
(Se
(Se
ries
Na
k
20 ama
15
-1) Re Lt
d
Cla
ss .
1
0
13) Cat bond and ILS price changes during Q4 2015 issuance
Four out of the eight tranches of cat bond and ILS notes issued during the
fourth-quarter priced at, or above the mid-point of initial coupon guidance,
further evidence of some price stabilisation in the market. The most dramatic
price increase from initial price guidance was seen with the Class 2 tranche of
Nakama Re notes, which experienced a price increase of 6.12% while marketing.
On the other side of the spectrum, PennUnion Re experienced a significant price
change of -7.69% while marketing. The average price change during Q4 2015 was
-0.66%, so roughly stable.
%
11
Launch Price Range
Final Pricing
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Pen
nU
(Se nion
ries Re
20 Ltd.
15
-1)
Na
ka
15 ma R
e
-1)
Cla Ltd.
ss
2
Vita
Ca
pita
(Se l VI L
ries
im
20 ited
15
-1)
Qu
een
Str
eet
XI
Re
Re
sid
dac
ent
ial
Re
ins
ura
nc
(Se e 20
ries 15
20 Ltd.
15
-2)
(Se Kilim
ries
a
20 njaro
15
-1) Re L
Cla td.
ss
D
(Se Kilim
ries
anj
a
20
15 ro Re
-1)
Cla Ltd.
ss
E
20
ries
(Se
(Se
ries
Na
k
20 ama
15
-1) Re Lt
d
Cla
ss .
1
0
14) Issued / Outstanding
During 2015 the outstanding catastrophe bond and ILS market recorded outright
growth of roughly $624 million, ending the year at $25.903 billion, the highest
level ever recorded. A continuation of the solid issuance trend witnessed
throughout the last two years remained during Q4, and the $1.525 billion of
transactions issued helped take full-year 2015 issuance to $7.841 billion, the
third highest ever recorded for a single year.
Despite the fourth-quarter of 2015 being the quietest of the year in terms of
number of deals issued, in part due to a lack of privately placed deals when
compared to recent quarters, strong issuance from repeat sponsors during
December ensured the overall market size grew, and stayed beyond the $25
billion mark first breached a year ago, in Q4 2014.
28000
$
Issued $m
Outstanding $m
26000
24000
22000
20000
18000
16000
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
2015
2014
If you want to see full details of every catastrophe bond and ILS transaction
included in the data in this report please visit www.artemis.bm/deal_directory/
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
+
15) Full-year 2015 ILS issuance by peril
U.S. property catastrophe risks
Medical beneï¬t claims level
Turkey earthquake
European earthquake
U.S. earthquake
U.S. named storm
(Florida initially)
Life embedded value
U.S. wind
Japanese earthquake
Texas named storm
Mortgage insurance losses
International multi-peril
Louisiana named storm
Florida named storm
Massachusetts named storm,
thunderstorm, winter storm
Excess mortaility
Chinese earthquake
U.S. multi-peril
California earthquake
Full-year 2015 ILS issuance by trigger
Industry loss index and
modelled industry loss index
Mortality index
Medical beneï¬t ratio
Industry loss index
Parametric
Indemnity
16) Full-year 2015 ILS issuance by expected loss
5
v
15%
50%
0% - 0.49%
25%
0.5% - 1.99%
2% - 4%
10%
4.01% +
Full-year 2015 ILS issuance by coupon pricing
v
v
10%
34%
0% - 2%
37%
2.01% - 4%
4.01% - 6%
10%
6.01% - 8%
8.01%+
9%
17) 2015 ILS issuance per-occurrence vs aggregate split by quarter
Per-occurrence
2000
Aggregate
1500
1000
500
0
Q1 2015
Q2 2015
Q3 2015
Q4 2015
Full-year 2015 ILS issuance per-occurrence vs aggregate split
Aggregate
Per-occurrence
18) Full-year 2015 number of ILS transactions
and volume issued by month ($M)
Catastrophe bond and ILS issuance in 2015 was dominated by the first-half of the
year, which saw more than $5.2 billion, or 66.6% of the total risk capital issued. As in
2014, the month of May saw the highest level of issuance during the year, at $1.47
billion, with March and December being the only other months to see more than $1
billion worth of transactions come to market.
As the challenging reinsurance market landscape is expected to continue into 2016,
alongside the implementation of Europe’s Solvency II regulation, it will be interesting
to see just how influential the ILS market will be in the coming months, and whether
the sector can continue down its impressive growth path.
$ millions
1800
Transactions 8
1600
7
1400
6
1200
5
1000
4
800
3
600
2
400
ber
cem
De
er
ber
No
vem
Oc
tob
t
Sep
tem
ber
y
gus
Au
Jul
e
Jun
y
Ma
Ap
Ma
Feb
r
Jan
ril
0
rch
0
uar
y
1
uar
y
200
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20) All catastrophe bond and ILS issuance data sourced
from the Artemis Deal Directory.
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