Longevity/mortality Buy-Ins, Buy-Outs, Longevity Bonds, Pandemics

Analysis

Cat XL is cost-effective for all but the most extreme mortality risks

Cat XL is cost-effective for all but the most extreme mortality risks

Under Solvency II the biggest cat capital charges are attracted by pandemic and terrorism risks. Anny Sun explains how more precise modelling of these is developing and why catastrophe excess-of-loss cover remains cost effective in mitigating extreme mortality events (except for pandemics).

A traded market for longevity risk will take time

A traded market for longevity risk will take time

There are lots of obstacles to developing a market in longevity. Despite a few significant deals, there's "not an avalanche of interest" one expert says. Lorna Davies sounds out opinion.

Insurers turn to scientific models of life catastrophe in wake of Tohoku

Insurers turn to scientific models of life catastrophe in wake of Tohoku

The March earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused the largest life insurance payout in history and changed the nature of mortality risk management throughout the world. Dr Andrew Coburn reviews what is known about the disaster and what can be learned from it.

Beware basis risk in longevity hedging

Three small population-index-based hedges have been completed so far which have included some basis risk. However, the importance of analysing basis risk will change with market expansion and, crucially, the approach of Solvency II, which requires basis risk to be expressly quantified. Mattias Eng and Michalis Ioannides decompose the sources of basis risk in longevity hedges and examine the key elements: base table, improvement factors and sampling error

The year in headlines

Here's a snapshot of some of the main developments in 2010, as captured by headlines from our news and comment section. There were some big natural disasters but no landfalling hurricane in the US, confounding some of the dire predictions. QIS5 featured large, along with other moves towards installing the Solvency II regime and tightening regulation of banking and insurance generally. The longevity risk transfer market is developing, but more slowly than anticipated by some.

More Longevity/mortality Analysis >

Highlights