What’s new: In brief (July 01, 2004)

Saskatchewan has switched to the same single license plate system in use in most provinces. As of June 30, drivers will be issued just one plate on new transactions, and other drivers will have the choice of whether they want to use one or two plates. Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI), which oversees license plate issuance, says the move will save about $370,000 per year, money which will go back to the public auto insurer.

A new report from Swiss Re outlines the role of insurance-linked securities as a means of increasing insurance capacity. Since 1996, global issuance of ILS has reached US$9.5 billion, a large number of which have been catastrophe bonds. Such bonds have become attractive to both investors and sponsors as they provide coverage against the risk without the counterparty credit risk. The full report can be ordered at www.swissre.com.

Bermuda-based XL Capital Ltd.’s insurance operations will provide capacity of up to US$500 million for entire global property programs. The capacity allows XL to compete selectively for these “entire” programs, on top of its existing option of US$250 million for programs on which it is a co-insurer.