Artemis Live - Insurance-linked securities (ILS), catastrophe bonds (cat bonds), reinsurance

This was the fifth session of the day at our Artemis London 2023 insurance-linked securities (ILS) market conference, held on September 5th in London, UK. Around 240 attendees enjoyed a busy day of thoughtful catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused discussion from industry experts, as well as valuable networking opportunities. This session features a keynote speech and Q&A with Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer, of the World Bank Group. Familiar discussed the World Bank's role in disaster risk financing and use of insurance-linked securities (ILS) such as catastrophe bonds. He explained that the World Bank's clients have benefited from significant risk transfer thanks to the cat bond structure over the years, saying that interest in insurance protection and leveraging capital market investor appetite to fund that, remains strong. Familiar also discussed the role of ILS and cat bonds at the World Bank. "We are focusing on increasing our financial capabilities and taking full-advantage of what we do in financial markets to further our mission," he explained. Adding, "This leads to insurance-linked securities (ILS)." Familiar further said that the World Bank is aware that countries need help to build resilience on the one hand, but also to build robust safety nets with different layers that will allow them to deal with natural disasters with different intensities and different probabilities of occurrence. "Hence, there is clearly a space for cat bonds here," Jorge Familiar told the audience. Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the World Bank Group's activities in the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

This was the fourth session of the day at our Artemis London 2023 insurance-linked securities (ILS) market conference, held on September 5th in London, UK. Around 240 attendees enjoyed a busy day of thoughtful catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused discussion from industry experts, as well as valuable networking opportunities. This session features an expert panel discussing the need to sustain returns, across both catastrophe bonds and private ILS such as collateralized reinsurance, and ideas as to how that can be achieved. The panel discussion was moderated by: Philipp Kusche, Global Head of ILS, Howden Tiger Capital Markets & Advisory. He was joined on stage by: Florian Steiger, Head of Cat Bonds, Twelve Capital; Hervé Castella, Chief Third Party Capital Officer, SCOR; Marco della Giacoma, Portfolio Manager, Tenax Capital; and Michael Rich, Head ILS, Commodities & Environmental Strategies, K2 Advisors. The panellists spoke about the evident diversification benefits that allocations to ILS have exhibited for investors over the last few years, saying that the lack of correlation remains a key driver for investor capital inflows to the sector. They also explored how investor sentiment is evolving in the catastrophe bond space, as well as more broadly for investments into private ILS such as collateralized reinsurance arrangements. Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the return potential of investment allocations to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

This was the third session of the day at our Artemis London 2023 insurance-linked securities (ILS) market conference, held on September 5th in London, UK. Around 240 attendees enjoyed a busy day of thoughtful catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused discussion from industry experts, as well as valuable networking opportunities. This session features a timely panel discussion focused on cyber catastrophe bond market developments, featuring some of those involved in some of the first wave of cyber cat bonds that launched soon after this event. The panel discussion was moderated by: Kyle Freeman, Head of ILS Structuring, Property, AXIS ILS. He was joined on stage by: Joe Gottlieb, Partner, Insurance Practice, Sidley Austin LLP; Rebecca Bole, Head of Industry Engagement, CyberCube; Richard Pennay, CEO of Insurance-Linked Securities, Aon Securities; and Benjamin Baltesar, Head of Underwriting and Pricing, Credit Suisse Insurance Linked Strategies. The group explored the readiness of the market for cyber catastrophe bond, discussing the response of investors to the prospect of cyber cat bonds getting issued, and speaking to some of the challenges faced in getting investors comfortable with cyber risks in ILS form. Event definitions were a focus, as this has been one of the key considerations for sponsors and their service providers, to ensure coverage is robust from a cyber cat bond. The investor side was also discussed and the group agreed that, in cyber risk, event definitions are critical so that ILS investors understand what losses could qualify and they could be exposed to, if they invested in a cyber cat bond. The group also said that the ILS market is ready for cyber and that investors have approached this in a pragmatic manner, with the initial cyber cat bonds ready to provide a good test for investor appetite and lay the groundwork for what could be an important new peril for the catastrophe bond market. Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the nascent market for cyber catastrophe bonds.

This was the second session of the day at our Artemis London 2023 insurance-linked securities (ILS) market conference, held on September 5th in London, UK. Around 240 attendees enjoyed a busy day of thoughtful catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused discussion from industry experts, as well as valuable networking opportunities. This session features an insightful panel discussion focused on developments in third-party investor sentiment for allocating to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bonds asset class. The panel discussion was moderated by: Lorenzo Volpi, Managing Partner / Deputy CEO, Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP. He was joined on stage by: Chantal Berendsen, Hedge Fund IDD Senior Analyst, Insurance Specialist, Albourne Partners; Martin Dietz, Head of Diversified Strategies, LGIM; and Raffaele Dell'Amore, Head ILS Centre of Competence, Partner, SIGLO Capital Advisors AG. The group explored the evolution of ILS investor sentiment over the last year and where it might be headed. They identified ongoing challenges and the need for investor concerns to be addressed, but also a steadily improving environment for ILS investor sentiment, helped by the improvements in returns available from the market, as well as the evidence of ILS portfolio enhancements that are starting to show through. Listen to this full podcast episode to learn more about the state of investor sentiment for allocating to the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market.

This was the first session of the day at our Artemis London 2023 insurance-linked securities (ILS) market conference, held on September 5th in London, UK.  More than 240 attendees enjoyed a busy day of thoughtful catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) focused discussion from industry experts, as well as valuable networking opportunities.  This session features a keynote speech and Q&A with Burkhard Keese, the CFO of the Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance market.  Keese discussed Lloyd's progress with its activities of relevance to the ILS investor community.  In particular, he shared an update on the London Bridge 2 PCC ILS structure and said that he expects more activity through the platform over the coming months, as Lloyd's market participants look to access efficient sources of capital and reinsurance.  Listen to the full episode for more insights about the Lloyd's market and its interaction with the insurance-linked securities (ILS) community from Burkhard Keese.

This panel discussion took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th. This was the final session of the day and saw three experienced insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment managers take to the stage, moderated by Steve Evans, Artemis' Owner and Editor. The panellists taking part were: John DeCaro, Founding Principal, Elementum Advisors, LLC; Peter DiFiore, Managing Director, Neuberger Berman; and Stephan Ruoff, Head of ILS, Schroders Capital. The panel session discussed the current state of the catastrophe bond and ILS market from the vantage point of experienced asset managers focused on this marketplace. The group explored what the current attractions are for investors to look at the ILS asset class, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region. In addition, a discussion was had as to how further institutionalisation of the ILS asset class could help it to deliver on its growth potential. Pricing in catastrophe bonds was also discussed, with panellists opining on the softening of prices that has been seen through recent weeks. Overall, investor appetite for ILS is viewed as increasing, but with the market still needing to prove out the improvements to the product and underwriting or structural changes that have been made, as well as to deliver the reinsurance-linked returns investors are expecting. Listen to this full episode to learn more about the state of the cat bond and ILS market from the viewpoint of experienced ILS asset management experts.

Scott McHardy, Head of Risk Finance at Toka Tū Ake EQC, joins Esther Kim from Swiss Re and Michael Bennett of the World Bank Treasury to discuss the growing importance of catastrophe bonds in public sector risk transfer. They highlight innovative initiatives like C-Drift and Pac-Drift, and the need for effective solutions to close the protection gap for vulnerable nations. The panel also explores the complexities of insurance in light of natural disasters and the potential for significant growth in the Asia-Pacific ILS market.

This keynote speech took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th. This session featured Yusuke Kikuchi, Managing Director at Aon Securities (Japan), the catastrophe bond, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and capital markets division of the global insurance and reinsurance broker. Kikuchi discussed the rapid economic growth potential of the Asia Pacific region, going on to highlight the magnitude of catastrophe losses that occur there and the resultant and still growing insurance protection gap. He went on to run through a timeline of catastrophe bond issuance in the region, highlighting key transactions and sponsors, as well as the handful of reinsurance sidecar deals that have been completed in APAC. Importantly, he noted the convergence of pricing between traditional reinsurance and ILS rates, which is helping to make the cat bond and ILS product range more appealing to sponsors. Going on to explain that there is still outsized demand from ILS investors for access to APAC risks, which means any Asia Pacific focused cat bonds and ILS would likely be well-received, while also saying that demand for ILS investments from allocators in Asia Pacific also remains high and further flows to the asset class from the region should be expected. Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about catastrophe bond and ILS market activity in Asia Pacific and the opportunity to grow the cat bond market in the region.

This panel discussion took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th.  This session was moderated by Steve Tunstall, Director, PARIMA.org. The panellists taking part were: Kelvin Wu, Head of Insurance, Weybourne Holdings; Mansi Kalra, Managing Director, JBA Risk Management Pte Ltd; Franck Baron, Chief Risk Officer, International SOS; and George McGhie, Strategic Adviser - Asia Pacific, Artex Risk Solutions.  The panel session sought to explore the potential role of insurance-linked securities (ILS) in corporate risk management.  The group discussed how corporate risk managers and insurance buyers think of the ILS opportunity and whether they believe it is a viable and complementary source of risk capital to add to their insurance towers.  They also explored the broader potential for use of insurance-linked securities (ILS) in corporate risk management, as well as topics such as parametric risk transfer, which is becoming a key corporate risk transfer tool.  With two insurance buyers on the panel representing large users of risk transfer, the panel provided an insightful look into how corporates might increasingly look to ILS and what the ILS market can do to help them engage more with the capital markets as a source of insurance risk transfer.  Listen to this full podcast episode to learn more about corporate risk management in Asia and how large insurance buyers think of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) opportunity.

This fireside chat interview took place on stage at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th.  This session features a discussion with William Ho, the CEO of MS Amlin Asia Pacific, and Head of Reinsurance (Asia) for MS Amlin, about his expertise in the region, his firm's view of the reinsurance market there and also its use of insurance-linked securities (ILS).  MS Amlin has now sponsored three capital market arrangements that have been issued out of Singapore, all under the Phoenix Re name and all constituting quota share sidecar arrangements, backed by ILS investor capital.  Ho provided some insights into the importance of the Asia Pacific region to his employer MS Amlin, as well as his priorities for the business there as CEO.  He then went on to explain the motivation for sponsoring the Phoenix Re sidecar structures, the experience of doing so out of Singapore and the reception the deal's received from the ILS investor community.  Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the Asian reinsurance market place from the perspective of an ILS sponsor there, as well as William Ho's thoughts on the MS Amlin offering in Asia Pacific and his intentions for future use of the Singapore ILS regulatory regime.