Interviews

The global specialty player is also exploring ILS offerings across specialty and cat bonds.

The carrier posted its H1 results earlier today, beating analyst consensus.

Investors are drawing lessons from life deals to find new routes into insurance markets.

We discuss progress in collateral management with our Outstanding Contributor winner.

Florida’s top regulator says he’s eyeing eventual tweaks to the state’s cat fund, too.

An allocation to insurance could “feel like a nice, calm port in the storm” amid wider market volatility.

Recent transactions on the platform include cat bonds from Flood Re and Brit.

Industry sources estimate the market to be around $3bn.

UCITS fund diversification targets limit their capacity for US wind bonds.

The firm will match segregated accounts of portfolios to investor mandates.

The former Credit Suisse ILS head Niklaus Hilti said working on life buyout hedges could rejuvenate the life ILS market.

Investment in the space comes mainly from the cat bond market, Gallagher Re said.

Recoletos Re DAC SPI takes its name from the Paseo de Recoletos boulevard in Madrid.

CEO Jonathan Zaffino said he saw opportunities for expansion in casualty.

Praedicat CEO Bob Reville outlined the firm’s approach to "casualty cat" as liability risk modeling continues to mature.

The subject business of the deal is Ascot’s ~$1bn property portfolio.

The carrier estimates the total industry loss for the Microsoft/CrowdStrike outage at around $1bn-$2bn.

The combined Twelve-Securis entity would be a top-five ILS firm currently.

The latest Insider ILS Outstanding Contributor for the year said 2011 was an under-appreciated turning point for the market.

The broker said high ILS maturities would boost cat bond issuance though the hurricane season would impact capital availability.

The fund has a strong focus on cedant quality and transaction structures.

The former Ledger director was joined by fellow ex-Ledger employees to “hit the ground running”.

Reinsurers have a "strong desire" for growth, but not at the expense of underwriting.

Chris Parry said the denominator effect remains a suppressant on ILS inflows after a strong phase of returns.

The carrier is designing an investable portfolio of long-tail risk.

The sidecars segment has been attracting inflows after returns hit a high note in 2023.

A new pooling structure allowed the firm to free up historic side pockets and provides a template for future exit options.

Nephila Syndicate CEO Adam Beatty said that the firm hopes to grow its new specialty syndicate to $500mn of premium within the next few years.

The philosophy of the Pioneer Cat Bond Fund is to avoid poor performers, not pick winners.

The former Aspen Capital Markets COO hopes to set up fronting partnerships for reinsurers wanting to build out in ILS.

Beazley’s $45mn first-time cyber cat bond offered all-perils coverage, though some expected early deals to start with limited scope.

The insurer secured 22 investors with its first public cat bond offering, having previously done a private deal.

The incoming president for insurance also highlighted the role Nephila could play in the transition to net zero.

Fidelis chairman Richard Brindle said a shift towards named cat perils and away from complex structures is underway, but that carriers need more unity between inwards and outwards teams to navigate the harder market.  

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is adding five new roles dedicated to ILS alongside an expansion of the ART team.

The reinsurer is ready to “walk away from business” where it feels pricing and terms and conditions are not good enough.

The Category 1 storm’s landfall on the east coast of Florida would be a “manageable” cat event that hurts primary carriers more than their reinsurers, he said.

Transparency and alignment of interests are the keys to expanding casualty ILS.

The Gulf Coast state is keen to distance itself from Florida’s insurance woes but is resistant to some underlying changes.

The HSCM co-founder said the cat reinsurance market was going through a profound shift that would open ILS opportunities for growth.

ILS risk-sharing should stick to peak risks, the reinsurer argued.

If Hurricane Andrew were to hit the coastal regions of Florida today, insured losses would be nearly four times the $15.5bn borne by carriers 30 years ago.

Rate increases are now universal in the property cat markets, the Gallagher Re executive said.

The commercial insurance CEO said that the industry should act now before the cat market reached a point of implosion.

Beazley’s own in-house ESG goals were put under as much scrutiny by its third-party capital providers as its underwriting strategies when the insurer launched ESG-focused Syndicate 4321 at the start of this year.

The Dutch pension adviser hopes to scale the vehicle to $2bn-$2.5bn over time, as it reported a slightly negative ILS return for 2021 and revealed Integral ILS allocation.

The firm will look to grow its offerings on climate change and natural catastrophe risk.

Inflationary pressure and climate change meant the market effectively gave ground to cedants despite nominal price rises.

Nephila will maintain a minority holding in the MGA, which is looking for paper from more reinsurers and ILS firms.

After Slide completed a $100mn fundraise, the CEO laid out the InsurTech’s plans to launch in five states at the start of 2022 in an interview with Inside P&C.

After raising around $150mn to open its Nanorock fund, Ledger Investing believes casualty business is set to capture more investor interest.

“It's at the five- and 20-year return periods where insurers have to start looking and be worried about making sure these models capture these events,” Clark told this publication in an interview.

The broker must ensure it is “leaving no stone unturned” in its search for capital, according to president and CEO of North America Pete Chandler.

Willis Re international chairman James Vickers said that the ILS market played a strong role in the Florida renewals, but it was becoming more difficult to judge the overall impact of the sector as more capacity stays behind rated balance sheets.

Cat bonds are an efficient and well-targeted answer for insuring charitable spending, according to Adam Bornstein, leader of the team at the Danish Red Cross, which oversaw the issuance of its debut cat bond covering volcanic eruptions.

The aspiring carrier is already providing risk-transfer deals for carbon offset buyers but plans for its initial underwriting to be focussed in more traditional areas.

Making it easier for brokers to use facility capacity is key to uptake, says the facility’s CEO, Dan Prince.

The latest generation of ILS-backed rated fronting platforms is looking more “ILS-y” due to their ownership structures.

The vehicle will launch with $200mn of equity contributed by all the manager's ILS funds.

The head of Beazley's Smart Tracker discusses a variety of new smart-beta investment pitches and argues that broker M&A will drive more facilitisation of risk transfer.

The $850mn assets advised by the firm are already largely deployed.

The start-up changes its business model to selling data structuring and analytics services.

The CEO said the French reinsurer will avoid court cases where possible in pandemic coverage disputes.

Affirmative cyber risks could be the next systemic risk the ILS market takes on, the executive suggests.

The carrier will largely avoid ILS and focus on differentiating through ESG.

The InsurTech announced a partnership with Lockton Re earlier this month, and completed a fundraise in the fall.

New boss Flandro suggested subordinated debt as a reinsurance alternative in a hardening market.

The ILS manager sees Florida primary and retro business producing more return than reinsurance.

The carrier would consider a variety of tactics to manage third-party capital, the CEO said.

Investors are still regaining trust after recent major loss years, the consultancy firm said.

The exec was speaking after the broker was acquired by Cinven and GIC in a multi-hundred million deal.

The European reinsurance chief says interest rates and loss experience drive the carrier’s hardening stance.

The president and CEO urges wordings precision to avoid cyber-related litigation.

Alternative capital reduced by around $3bn in H1 2020 due to trapping. 

The company’s premium base is closing in on market leader State National.

Regulators have remained responsive despite the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Obsidian CEO.

She will leave Schroders at the end of the month after spending more than seven years at the company.

The Florida Senator says tackling legal fees is a priority as demand for reform grows – but it will take time to implement.

The incoming chairman said he did not want to get "distracted" by expanding into a broader reinsurance or London platform right now.

Aon's estimate shows that bulk sums offered rose from the $250mn previously reported.

Using Kroll to rate Prospero Re allowed the firm to add customised ILS features to the rated structure, by having its fund investors own the platform.

Managing director Philipp Graf said the new arrangement with Allen Partners would bring the full suite of Twelve’s products to institutional investors in Australia and New Zealand.

Richard Brindle also said the cat market is highly sensitive to an additional event, with widespread dislocation possible.

Retro is just the start for Markel’s new ILS platform, the firm’s reinsurance CUO said.