Due to the increasing relevance of natural catastrophes as a significant global source of risk and the capacity constraints in primary insurance and reinsurance markets, CAT bonds have become an important instrument to manage catastrophe risks by transferring them to the capital market. In three empirical studies, this dissertation examines the challenges related to catastrophe risk management with CAT bonds. First, the factors that influence the substitution of traditional reinsurance by CAT bonds are identified. These factors consist of the insured risk layer and the extends of reinsurer default risk, basis risk, and asymmetric information. Second, the accessibility of the CAT bond market for (re)insurance companies is analyzed and the results exhibit the existence of barriers to market entry in the form of higher premiums being paid by less reputable and financially weaker CAT bond sponsors. The third empirical study shows that CAT bond sponsors are susceptible to moral hazard, but also that moral hazard can be successfully prevented by sufficient loss retention or by the use of non-indemnity CAT bonds. Altogether, this dissertation contributes to improving the understanding of the CAT bond market and the challenges of catastrophe risk management using CAT bonds.

Is it possible that the insurance and reinsurance industries cannot handle a major catastrophe? Ten years ago, the notion that the overall cost of a single catastrophic event might exceed $10 billion was unthinkable. With ever increasing property-casualty risks and unabated growth in hazard-prone areas, insurers and reinsurers now envision the possibility of disaster losses of $50 to $100 billion in the United States. Against this backdrop, the capitalization of the insurance and reinsurance industries has become a crucial concern. While it remains unlikely that a single event might entirely bankrupt these industries, a big catastrophe could place firms under severe stress, jeopardizing both policy holders and investors and causing profound ripple effects throughout the U.S. economy. The Financing of Catastrophe Risk assembles an impressive roster of experts from academia and industry to explore the disturbing yet realistic assumption that a large catastrophic event is inevitable. The essays offer tangible means of both reassessing and raising the level of preparedness throughout the insurance and reinsurance industries.

'Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries' provides a detailed analysis of the imperfections and inefficiencies that impede the emergence of competitive catastrophe risk markets in developing countries. The book demonstrates how donors and international financial institutions can assist governments in middle- and low-income countries in promoting effective and affordable catastrophe risk financing solutions. The authors present guiding principles on how and when governments, with assistance from donors and international financial institutions, should intervene in catastrophe insurance markets. They also identify key activities to be undertaken by donors and institutions that would allow middle- and low-income countries to develop competitive and cost-effective catastrophe risk financing strategies at both the macro (government) and micro (household) levels. These principles and activities are expected to inform good practices and ensure desirable results in catastrophe insurance projects. 'Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries' offers valuable advice and guidelines to policy makers and insurance practitioners involved in the development of catastrophe insurance programs in developing countries.

Investors across the globe are struggling to generate returns in a world of sub-zero interest rates. Macroeconomic events have the potential to shock financial markets from equities to corporate or government bonds alike. The traditional methods of portfolio diversification are failing in a world characterized by unprecedented liquidity injections from central banks. Cat bonds offer a viable alternative: Their performance is linked to the occurrence of natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, instead of corporate profits or stock market sentiment. Family offices and leading institutional investors are shifting billions of assets into these little-known instruments thus effectively becoming competitors to the traditional providers of reinsurance coverage. With steady returns of more than 7% per annum over the past twenty years, cat bonds have proven their resilience many times. This book takes the reader through the history of the asset class, outlines the basic structure and economics before demonstrating the benefit of adding a cat bond allocation to a traditional multi-asset portfolio.

A ground-breaking volume that fully exposes the relatively new area of risk financing from traditional methods of insurance and provides analysis of the intersection of insurance and finance. \r\nKulp-Wright Book Award winner 2002 - Nominated "Runner-Up" by the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA)