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

Bermuda's insurance and reinsurance market is readily taking steps to embrace ESG within their business models, but there is a lot to do and the work can become very technical, according to Marisa Savage at PwC Bermuda.  Our latest Artemis Live interview is with Marisa Savage of PwC, a Partner in the PwC Bermuda Insurance practice, as well as leader of the PwC Actuarial Services practice for the Caribbean region.  Also the ESG Leader for PwC Bermuda, in this interview we discussed the importance of environmental, social and governance considerations.  Savage also explained how Bermuda's insurance, reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is adopting ESG within their business models and the important role regulation is playing in driving these trends.  She laid out the current state of play saying, "What are companies doing to move the ESG needle. So I think most big players, you can see when you talk about the underwriting side of things, they're making commitments, say, by 2020 or 2030, to stop underwriting coal fired projects or other carbon intensive exposures.  "They're also looking at the investment side of their balance-sheet to look at the mandates they have for their advisors, to make sure that what they're investing in is ESG friendly. Those are the two areas that companies are really looking at, to evolve in, and to make their mark on the ESG side of things."  However, Savage noted that making their mark in ESG-terms requires good governance, something PwC works to assist their clients with.  "We are a trust and solutions based organisation, that is our value proposition and on the trust side, that's going to mean delivering assurance, on ESG reporting matters. As standards come out, they're going to be requiring assurance and we are well placed to provide that assurance for our clients.  "On the solutions side of things, working with clients on ESG strategy, on evaluating governance frameworks and things like that."  Listen to the full episode for more insights from PwC Bermuda's Marisa Savage.

The Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market has weathered recent global volatility and elevated levels of catastrophe events extremely well, demonstrating its resilience, according to Matt Britten at PwC Bermuda.  Our latest Artemis Live interview is with Matt Britten of PwC, a Partner in the PwC Bermuda Insurance and Reinsurance practice, as well as the Risk Assurance practice leader there.  Britten joined us to discuss the state of the market in Bermuda, touching on insurance, reinsurance and also insurance-linked securities (ILS) conditions there.  We also spoke about the volatile macro environment around the globe and how the Bermuda re/insurance and ILS market has navigated this.  Britten explained that, "When you think about just how challenging the environment has been for the Bermuda market, the multiple years of cat losses exceeding $100 billion, far-reaching impacts of the global pandemic, and more recently, rampant inflation and the rapid rise in interest rates, I think you have to say that the Bermuda market has weathered extremely well.  "It's shown fantastic resilience, it continues to innovate and it remains a market that attracts new capital and new entrants."  On the need for re/insurers and ILS firms to demonstrate they can deliver an acceptable level of returns to their capital providers, Britten feels the newly hardened reinsurance market will make it more feasible for costs-of-capital to be sustainably met.  He added, "I definitely feel that 1/1 of this year was a turning point, that should start to allow reinsurers to have a platform from which they can start generating those returns that will help them meet their cost-of-capital."  Listen to the full episode for more insights from PwC Bermuda's Matt Britten.

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."