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

The global insurance, reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) industry has a clear seat at the table on discussions and actions related to climate change, according to Arthur Wightman at PwC Bermuda.  Our latest Artemis Live interview is with Arthur Wightman of PwC, the territory leader for PwC Bermuda and also the firm's lead on markets and for the insurance industry sector across the Caribbean region.  Wightman joined us to discuss the state of the insurance and reinsurance market, both in Bermuda and globally.  We also discussed climate change and the role of the insurance, reinsurance and ILS industry.  Wightman explained that, "There's just a huge volatility in in how climate change is manifesting, in terms of underwriting and the risks that are being underwritten. So there's there's an enormous amount of effort being placed on gathering data, new data that certainly looks different from data ten years ago, using technology to better understand and price risk.  "Because if you think that the risk profile of natural catastrophes is manifestly changing, you're essentially hitting a moving target with underwriting at the moment and that's something that is taking up a lot of focus.  "Particularly at a time when there is increasing pressure for executives to deliver appropriate capital returns to shareholders and, essentially solidifying the long-term value proposition of reinsurance as a whole."  Listen to the full episode for more insights from PwC Bermuda's Arthur Wightman.

For our latest Artemis Live interview, we discussed the state of the catastrophe bond market after hurricane Ian and the opportunities now available to investors with Florian Steiger, Head of Cat Bonds at specialist ILS and reinsurance asset manager Twelve Capital.  Steiger explained that the catastrophe bond market actually got lucky with hurricane Ian, as had the storm made landfall further north close to Tampa, or impacted Miami, the realised losses for the cat bond segment could have been much more significant.  "I think, the outcome of hurricane Ian, and as we also see it now that there's more clarity, I think it's a rather positive outcome and it could have been much worse," Steiger explained in our video interview.  Steiger discussed how his firm, investment manager Twelve Capital, is viewing the prospect for catastrophe bond losses from hurricane Ian.  He also explained the investment manager's view on the market opportunities that are now available to investors in cat bonds, as returns rise significantly given the pricing in of risk and losses.  Listen to this full podcast episode for more insights into the post-Ian catastrophe bond market environment.

This was the seventh session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022.  The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities.  Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards.  Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance.  This seventh video from the event features a panel discussion around the future evolution of the catastrophe bond marketplace and asks what comes next?  The panel discussion was moderated by Guillaume Courtet, Portfolio Manager ILS, Schroders. He was joined by: Adam Bornstein, Lead, Innovative Finance & Systems Change, Danish Red Cross; Brian Kirwan, General Manager, Europe, Vesttoo; and Mike Rich, Head ILS, Commodities & Environmental Strategies, K2 Advisors.  The discussion focused on where the panellists feel there is potential for the catastrophe bond and also broader insurance-linked securities (ILS) market to expand its scope.  The panellists also discussed potential niche use-cases for catastrophe bonds, including real-world examples of the evolution of the cat bond and ILS structure from their own experiences.  Listen to the full audio of this evolution of the catastrophe bond focused panel discussion for more insights into the potential for the ILS market to continue expanding its remit.

This was the sixth session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022. The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities. Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards. Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance. This sixth session from the event features a panel discussion on the subject of London as a hub for catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS) The panel discussion was moderated by Des Potter, Special Advisor, Lloyd's. He was joined by: Lisa Leaman, Head of Division, London Markets, Prudential Regulation Authority, Bank of England; Shireen Gammoh, Partner, Head of Strategic & Financial Analytics, Gallagher Re; and Philipp Kusche, Global Head of ILS & Capital Solutions, TigerRisk Capital Markets & Advisory. The discussion focused on what is different about London's proposition, when it comes to catastrophe bonds and insurance-linked securities (ILS). It also covered opportunities the ILS market may be able to generate through closer and more direct trading with London based cedents and the Lloyd's marketplace. Listen to the full podcast episode of a London catastrophe bond and ILS focused panel discussion, for more insights into the potential for the market to make greater use of alternative reinsurance capital.

This was the fifth session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022.  The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities.  Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards.  Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance.  This fifth session from the event features a keynote speech from the CFO and COO of Lloyd's, Burkhard Keese.  During his keynote, Burkhard Keese explained Lloyd's evolving approach to insurance-linked securities (ILS) and its appetite to expand its use of ILS structures to work directly with investors that want to supply third-party capital directly into the market.  "We have introduced London Bridge to open up the London market, the Lloyd's market, to institutional investors in an easy and modern way.  "Yes it took, I would say, at least ten years longer than it took in Bermuda and Guernsey, but we are now there," Keese explained.  Listen to this full podcast episode of Burkhard Keese's keynote speech for more insights into the Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance market's growing appetite for working with ILS investors

This was the fourth session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022. The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities. Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards. Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance. This fourth session from the event begins with a keynote speech on "The readiness of cyber modelling for catastrophe bonds", from Matt Harrison, Director of Product Management - Cyber, at RMS. After the keynote speech, this session moves straight into a panel discussion on "The potential for cyber cat bonds", moderated by Quentin Perrot, Managing Director, ILS Origination and Structuring, GC Securities. Panellists participating in this cyber cat bond discussion were: Tom Johansmeyer, Head of PCS, Verisk; Matt Harrison - Director of Product Management - Cyber, RMS; and Raphael Rayees, PM, Traded ILS, Lead PM, Securis Catastrophe Bond Fund, Securis Investment Partners. The group followed on from the keynote speech, discussing how models have evolved for cyber risks, what other prerequisites there are for the development of cyber catastrophe bonds, structural considerations that need to be taken into account, and importantly the investor appetite for a cyber cat bond. Listen to the fill audio for the keynote speech and panel discussion on cyber catastrophe bonds.

This was the third session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022.  The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities.  Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards.  Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance.  This third video from the event features a panel discussion on environmental, social and governance (ESG) trends in the catastrophe bond market, under the title of "ESG in the cat bond market. What next?", moderated by Dirk Schmelzer, Partner, Senior Portfolio Manager, Plenum Investments AG.  Panellists participating in this discussion were: Chantal Berendsen, Hedge Fund IDD Senior Analyst, Insurance Specialist, Albourne Partners; Siti Dawson, Executive Director, LGT ILS Partners; and Andy Palmer, Head ILS Structuring EMEA & APAC / CEO SRCML, Swiss Re.  The group discussed how ESG has increased as a priority with cat bond and ILS investors, what the ILS market is doing to respond to investors ESG needs and where the catastrophe bond market goes next on its journey towards becoming increasingly ESG appropriate as an asset class.  Listen to the full discussion for more of their comments.

This was the second session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022. The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities.  Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards.  Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance.  This second video from the event features a panel discussion on climate, disaster risk and parametric catastrophe bonds, under the title of "Filling the Gaps", moderated by Maria Rapin, CEO of Nephila Climate.  Panellists participating in this discussion were: Lorenzo Volpi, Managing Partner, Leadenhall Capital Partners; Michael Bennett, Head of Derivatives & Structured Finance, World Bank Treasury; Nils Ossenbrink, Managing Partner, Head of Distribution and Products, Twelve Capital. The group discussed how instruments such as parametric cat bonds fit into ILS fund investment portfolios and how managers think about underwriting them.  On parametric cat bonds, Volpi of Leadenhall Capital Partners explained that, "Overall, premium is also important and ultimately you need to be paid for the risk, while the type of trigger is also an important factor when we look at these."  Ossenbrink of Twelve Capital added, "We believe for an institutional investor, or other investor, it's an ideal solution and really something we should try to grow."  Bennett, from the World Bank Treasury explained how the institution looks at the ILS market when bringing cat bond deals to market, "We will do everything we can to put it in a package that works for you modelling wise.  "We think we're bringing you something very valuable, the investor community. We're bringing you highly-diversifying risk, in an absolutely secure package, as it's the World Bank issuing these bonds.  "We think we're providing the market something extraordinarily valuable so we always ask you to work with us and have some flexibility."

This was the first session of the day from our Artemis London 2022 conference, held on September 6th, 2022.  The event was Artemis' first insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference held in the City of London and saw more than 240 attendees enjoy a wide-range of sessions and networking opportunities.  Themed largely around the catastrophe bond, attendees heard from expert speakers that have been in the sector for years, as well as newcomers with ideas of how to innovate the cat bond and ILS market going forwards.  Attendees came from as far afield as New Zealand, Hawaii, Asia, North and South America, Bermuda, as well as a large European contingent, plus as you’d expect numerous London marketplace leaders in ILS and reinsurance.  This first video from the event features Michael Millette, Founder & Managing Partner, Hudson Structured Capital Management, who gave a keynote speech on the catastrophe bond market to celebrate 25 years of its development.  During his keynote Millette said, “It’s important to have this conference now and to commemorate 25 years because the cat market, the cat bond market, and the broader reinsurance market, are all wrestling with and reconsidering some aspects of their structure in light of the difficult experience of the last five years. So, it’s a good time to take stock.”  He was then joined on stage by Alan Punter, NED, Occam Underwriting, where the pair discussed 25 landmark catastrophe bond deals from across the first 25 years of the cat bond market.

This is the fifth and final session from our Artemis ILS NYC 2022 conference, held in New York City on April 22nd, 2022. This was the largest insurance-linked securities conference in the world since our last in Feb 2020, prior to the pandemic (now eclipsed by our London event in September though, in terms of attendance). Over 200 attendees assembled in New York to hear industry expert speakers under the theme of "(Re)setting the scene", discussing the future of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market as the COVID-19 pandemic abates and the industry adjusts to another year of catastrophe losses. This was the fifth session of the conference and featured a question and answer session with the four moderators from earlier panel discussions held that day. The four session leaders discussed a wide range of issues affecting the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, from the need to deliver to its investor base, to opportunities to grow the pie. This session was moderated by: Steve Evans, Owner and Editor-in-Chief, Artemis.bm Participants were: Stephan Ruoff, Head of ILS, Schroders Capital; Tom Johansmeyer, Head of PCS, Verisk Insurance Solutions; Judith Klugman, Head ILS Sales, Swiss Re; and Ben Fox, Principal, Portfolio Manager, Hiscox ILS.