This episode features the fourth and final panel session of the day at Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

The final panel session of the day featured a discussion titled "Asia Pacific ILS market a decade from now."

Moderating the panel session was: Steve Evans, Editor, Artemis.

Joining him were: Michael Bennett, Head of Derivatives & Structured Finance, World Bank Treasury; Cheryl Tan, Partner, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP; Simon Cloney, CEO, Steadfast Re; and Tim Yip, Executive Director & Portfolio Manager, ILS Advisers..

The panel discussed broad trends in catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS), asking what it will take to increase activity across Asia Pacific.

They also explored what has held cat bonds and ILS back in the region, while touching on regulatory issues, the appetite of sponsors and investors, as well as innovation that could help to spur on more issuance across Asia Pacific..

Listen to this full podcast episode for more insights into catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) in Asia Pacific.

This episode features a speech and fireside chat interview from Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

This session featured a keynote speech and fireside chat interview with Paul Schultz, at the time the CEO of Aon Securities, the capital markets and investment banking arm of the global broking giant Aon.

Schultz has now become the Global Vice Chair of Reinsurance at Aon.

In this episode, Schultz gave a keynote speech to update the ILS Asia 2024 conference attendees on catastrophe bonds and ILS in Asia, after which he sat for an interview to explore his thoughts on market conditions.

Listen to the full episode for more insights into the Aon view on catastrophe bonds and ILS in Asia from our expert speaker.

This episode features a fireside chat session from Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

This fireside chat featured three senior reinsurance leaders from the region, all executives and/or members of the Singapore Reinsurers’ Association  (SRA).

Joining moderator Steve Evans were: Marc Haushofer, Chair, Singapore Reinsurers’ Association (SRA); Kenrick Law, Deputy Chair, SRA. Regional CEO, Allianz Re; Victor Kuk, EXCO Member, SRA. CEO, Swiss Re Asia.

The group discussed the Asian reinsurance market status and outlook, also sharing their views on Singapore’s continued development as a key market hub for the region.

In addition, the group spoke about their views on the use of third-party and alternative capital, as well as the important contribution that reinsurance and ILS together can make on the protection gap.

Listen to the full episode for more insights from these senior executives into the Asian reinsurance market and the potential for insurance-linked securities (ILS) in the region.

This episode features the audio from the third panel session of the day at Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

The third panel session of the day featured a discussion titled "Connecting innovative risk transfer with capital markets."

Moderating the panel session was: Kirtiraj (Raj) Jadeja, Divisional Director, AGILE Risk Advisory.

Joining him were: Piyush Jain, Appointed Actuary, Kshema General Insurance Ltd.; Esther Kim, Senior Product Manager, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re; Alexander Pui, SVP, Climate and Sustainability Consulting, Marsh; Yash Jain, Founder, Cliff Horizon.

The panel explored the role of technology in risk transfer, as well as innovative and responsive techniques such as parametric triggers and discussed why these innovative forms of risk transfer may prove attractive opportunities to investors in the capital markets.

They also discussed the protection gap and opportunities to narrow it using innovative insurance and reinsurance risk transfer techniques and efficient capital sources.

Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights into why innovative and responsive risk transfer may prove well-suited to further development of ILS and catastrophe bonds in Asia Pacific.

The innovative Phoenix sidecar series of deals challenged the norm of what is seen in insurance-linked securities (ILS) and the product has delivered for its investors, William Ho, CEO of MS Amlin Asia Pacific told us in a recent interview.

Our latest Artemis Live podcast episode features William Ho, CEO of MS Amlin Asia Pacific, who joined us to discuss the Phoenix sidecar series, a set of collateralized reinsurance transactions issued out of Singapore with a focus on diversifying risks from the Asia Pacific region.

Ho explained on the Phoenix sidecar series of deals, "It was something that was a bit different, a bit diversified, against a peak-zone product.

"Whilst there was a bit of scepticism whether or not we could get something like this done, we felt the timing was right, that despite it being quite a challenging time to try and raise capital, this diversification play, being something a bit different, encouraged us at MS Amlin to to push forward with this kind of project in the region.

"We felt it was a bit innovative, we wanted to challenge the norm, and establish some expectations down the line as well."

Ho went on to explain the track-record of the Phoenix sidecars and told us, "We're going into our fifth year now. So, we've had four years of transactions on the trot. Looking back, we've raised over $160 million over that period of time, averaging between 8% and 9% return-on-capital. From an underwriters perspective, we ceded over $30 million of premium into these vehicles and generated less than a million dollars of losses.

"So, the track-record is building and that proof of concept is now turning into a transaction that can show it's got a track-record and it's got some longevity in it."

Listen to the full episode of this interview with William Ho of MS Amlin Asia Pacific to learn more about the innovative Phoenix series of reinsurance sidecar deals and the investment opportunity it presents.

This episode features the second panel session of the day at Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

The second panel session of the day was a discussion titled "ILS investor sentiment and trends."

Moderating the panel session was: Yuko Hoshino, Senior Managing Director, Business Development, Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP.

Joining her were: Stefan Kräuchi, Founder / CEO, ILS Advisers / HSZ Group; Leslie Lim, Investment Director, Tsao Family Office; and InYeong Yi, Head of Reinsurance, Mitsui Bussan Pana Harrison.

The panellists discussed developments in investor sentiment for insurance-linked securities (ILS) with a particular focus on the Asia Pacific region.

The audience heard from ILS managers and a family office investor that allocates to insurance-linked securities (ILS), as well as a large asset owner with re/insurance interests, making for a well-rounded discussion.

Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights into investor sentiment for insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds in Asia Pacific.

This episode features the second session of the day at Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

The second session of the day was a keynote speech and fireside chat interview focused on cyber catastrophe bonds.

Delivering the keynote and being interviewed was: Jon Choi, Director, Insurance Risk Consulting from specialist cyber risk modelling and analytics company CyberCube.

His keynote speech was titled "Cyber catastrophe bonds: Digital Ties and Natural Divides" and Choi explored the cyber cat bonds issued so far in the market and highlighted key differences and the opportunities for diversification between them.

After his keynote, Jon Choi of CyberCube joined Steve Evans from Artemis on stage for a fireside chat interview, where they discussed some of the issues raised during his keynote speech and the important role of risk modelling firms in helping to develop and promote the cyber catastrophe bond marketplace.

Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights into the growing cyber catastrophe bond market from our expert speaker.

The life reinsurance industry in Bermuda has embraced the use of third-party capital structures and investor relationships, with sidecars now an established and growing feature of the market, Damian Cooper of PwC Bermuda explained in a recent interview.

Our latest Artemis Live interview is with Damian Cooper, an experienced audit focused Partner in the Insurance team at PwC Bermuda.

Cooper has a focus on the reinsurance industry, particularly the life sector, and also leads PwC’s capital markets, accounting and regulatory advisory practice within Bermuda.

With 20 years experience at PwC supporting life and general insurance clients in Australia, the UK and Bermuda, Damian has also audited several reinsurer’s ILS and third-party capital operations.

During our interview, Cooper pointed to the health of the life reinsurance market in Bermuda and highlighted a continuous trend towards innovation in the relationships between cedents and investors or asset managers.

Cooper explained some of the trends driving this.

He told us that, "On the demand side from the life reinsurers, it's worth noting that, obviously, reinsurers are fairly restricted, there's a real limit on a regulatory capital perspective on their ability to use debt financing so they are relatively dependent on equity. 

"So third party capital has really been seen as an attractive way to grow, given its relative cost and flexibility as a tool to fund that growth, and given just the size of where these life reinsurers are going, there is a constant need, or a fairly steady need, to attain new capital to be able to fund that growth.

"For the established reinsurers, the use of third-party capital and those sidecars also gives an opportunity to generate sort of management fee income, right, so to create another revenue source for them as part of their wider sort of return to their primary equity holders.

"Then also, depending on the source of third-party capital, it can be used to ensure you get a good long-term alignment of interest between a ceding company or an asset manager and creating that sort of more symbiotic relationship on the reinsurance side, and then on the supply side. 

"The existing success of those third-party capital vehicles is generating its own appetite for people looking at an effective way to essentially invest into the life reinsurance market and to be able to partner up or access the successful management teams, as they were, and their expertise in underwriting and asset management."

Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights from PwC Bermuda's Damian Cooper.

This episode features the first panel session of the day at Artemis' ILS Asia 2024 conference, which was held in Singapore on July 11th.

It was our sixth in-person conference in Singapore focused on catastrophe bonds, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and alternative reinsurance capital trends.

The first session of the day was a panel discussion titled "Catastrophe bonds: Onwards and upwards in the liquid ILS market."

Moderating the panel session was: Mark Gibson, Head of Products & Solutions ILS, Schroders Capital..

Joining him were: Iain Reynolds, Director, Head of Catastrophe Analytics and Research, Peak Re; Lena Ng, Partner, Clifford Chance; Hussain Ahmad, Head of Structured Solutions, APAC, Guy Carpenter; and Peter DiFiore, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman.

The panellists explored the state of the catastrophe bond market and the outlook for the rest of the year, as well as the evolving use of catastrophe bonds as reinsurance and more direct risk transfer structures, plus how activity in Singapore and Asia more broadly is developing.

Listen to the full episode for more insights into the catastrophe bond market from our expert speakers.

Urs Baertschi, CEO of P&C Reinsurance at global reinsurer Swiss Re joined us for this Artemis Live interview just in advance of the 2024 Monte Carlo Reinsurance Rendez-Vous event.

Baertschi discusses Swiss Re's priorities for the end of year renewal negotiations, his view of reinsurance market conditions, the need to continue working to close insurance protection gaps, the role of alternative capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) and much more.

Speaking about what he expects to be on the agenda in Monte Carlo at the RVS, Baertschi told us, "Generally speaking, as we look at the environment, at the supply and demand dynamics, demand is up. Clients want to buy more reinsurance to de-risk their peak perils, and we're going to be in an active discussion around that as an industry."

Moving on to speak about terms and conditions, Baertschi continued, "When you look at the risk sharing between the insurance industry and the reinsurance industry, there clearly was a lot of movement about a year and a half ago and 24 months ago around this and it has stabilised since then.

"Primary insurance has caught up around the reality of what it means to have higher volatility in the frequency space as well."

He added, "The risk landscape keeps evolving and so it's really important for our industry, end-to-end, to reflect that evolving risk landscape in the kind of products that we offer, in the rates that are being charged throughout, in the structures, in the wordings, and so these are all going to be discussions that we expect to kick-off in Monte Carlo, and then throughout the rest of the renewal season."

Asked about key issues related to price adequacy, attachment points and his expectations for reinsurance capital providers to remain disciplined, Baertschi expects relative stability it seems.

"We would expect the current environment, that we've seen so far this year, to maintain throughout the balance of the year as well," he explained.

"This new-norm of more than $100 billion of insured losses from natural catastrophes is really here to stay, and that's a market reality. And the vast majority of that is driven by smaller events that should be picked up in the retention of the primary insurers.

"So with all of that, the history, the financial results, how the balance between the insurers and reinsurers in the risk-sharing is finding itself in the market, we would expect the environment to remain largely similar to the discipline that we have seen so far this year."

Listen to the full episode for more insights from Urs Baertschi, CEO of P&C Reinsurance at Swiss Re.

There are an increasing number of insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralized reinsurance formations in Bermuda that have a focus on areas of the property and casualty (P&C) market outside of natural catastrophe risks, Damian Sealy of PwC Bermuda explained in a recent interview.

Our latest Artemis Live interview is with Damian Sealy, a Director and the Actuarial Leader for Bermuda and PwC in the Caribbean.

Sealy leads the delivery of actuarial services for PwC Bermuda and the Caribbean’s audit and advisory engagements. During his 18 year actuarial career he has worked with most insurance entities, from captives, to large global property and catastrophe reinsurers, as well as collateralized reinsurance and ILS structures in Bermuda.

During our interview, Sealy pointed to the health of the ILS market and expanding use of alternative capital sources in lines of insurance business outside of the more typical property cat.

He explained that the ILS and collateralized reinsurance market is "actively growing" and that this is leading to an increasing number of engagements for actuarial work related to newly established structures.

"For my team specifically, we're certainly seeing an increase in the number of new formations requesting our actuarial support, whether that's directly providing advisory support, where we are independent of the new vehicle, or as the actuarial team member within the overall audit team," Sealy said during the interview.

Going on to say that, "What I've seen recently are a number of structures, collateralized insurers and reinsurers, sidecars, where the underlying coverage relates to casualty business, and some also providing coverage across the market, in property cat, casualty, specialty.

"We, of course, focus our assistance in helping clients, or in the case of audit where the audit team is essentially my client, we're trying to help them to understand the sensitivity and the variability of that result."

Asked whether he believes casualty ILS and other P&C lines are a growth area, Sealy said, "I certainly do, especially as the industry and as the market, with the support of actuaries, continue to explore the impact that tail-risk and that longer-term variability can have, it can be positive, if understood.

"So I do think that this is a particular growth area, and I'm glad to see the market giving it consideration and expanding the support that it can lend to the industry."

Listen to the full podcast episode for more insights from PwC Bermuda’s Damian Sealy.