In the run up to the 2026 edition of the annual Monte Carlo Rendez-vous event, our sister publication Reinsurance News spoke with Urs Baertschi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Property & Casualty (P&C) Reinsurance at industry giant Swiss Re to gauge his views on the state of the market. 

With the global reinsurance market transitioning to a more competitive state, Baertschi highlighted that what’s important across the re/insurance value chain is charging an adequate rate. 

He explained in this interview that supply and demand factors are driving the market, but that given the uncertain world we live in there is new demand for protection being seen. 

On the state of the market, Baertschi said, "It's not just one market; it's many micro cycles, and those different perspectives on the same environment actually creates that market." 

Listen to this episode to learn more from Urs Baertschi of Swiss Re on the state of the global reinsurance market, the end of year renewal outlook and Swiss Re's priorities for the rest of this year and into 2027.

This podcast episode features another panel discussion that was held at the Artemis ILS NYC 2026 event, our tenth catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference in the ILS NYC series, held on February 6th 2026 in New York.

This panel was focused on the expansion of the ILS asset class in terms of its product offerings, titled "Expanding the ILS perimeter: New risks, new markets, new capital."

This expansion of the ILS asset class focused panel discussion was kindly moderated by Kathleen Faries, CEO, Artex Capital Solutions.

She was joined on stage by: Joanna Syroka, Director of New Markets, Fermat Capital Management, LLC; Chris McKeown, Chief Executive, Reinsurance, ILS & Innovation, Vantage Risk; Danny Arnett, Managing Director, Insurance Linked Securities, Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers; and Bob Forness, CEO, MultiStrat Group.

Our panellists discussed the evolution and future prospects of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, highlighting its expansion from property catastrophe into casualty, specialty, and cyber lines.

The discussion placed great emphasis on the importance of underwriting discipline, capital management, and alignment with investors, particularly in new market opportunities that are expected to grow, such as risk transfer for data centre projects and cyber insurance.

The panellists also discussed the need for efficient operational infrastructure and the potential for ILS to become an increasingly tradable asset class.

The fact protection gaps are much more prevalent than just in natural catastrophe risks was also pointed out, with opportunities emerging across many lines of insurance and reinsurance given the need for capital and capacity to support the traditional industries growth. While opportunities like the AI data centre build-out may present completely net-new chances for the ILS market to deploy its capital in time.

On the casualty ILS side, speakers explained the need for transparency, alignment, and patience in managing longer-term risks.

Listen to this podcast episode from our Artemis ILS NYC 2026 conference to learn more about the growing range of opportunities for investors, as the insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class expands.

This episode features another of our panel discussions at Artemis ILS NYC 2026, our tenth catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference in the ILS NYC series, held on February 6th 2026 in New York.

This panel was focused on the catastrophe bond market segment and titled "Cat bonds: Maintaining an equilibrium in value, for both sponsors and investors."

This cat bond focused panel discussion was kindly moderated by Philipp Kusche, Chairman HCMA Europe, Global Co-Head ILS, Howden Capital Markets & Advisory.

He was joined on stage by: Stephan Ruoff, Co-Head of Private Debt & Credit Alternatives, Chairman ILS, Schroders Capital; Michael Bennett, Global Head Market Solutions & Structured Finance, World Bank; Niklaus Hilti, Chief Investment Officer, Euler ILS Partners; and Paul VanderMarck, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, SageSure.

Our panellists explored the current state of the catastrophe bond market and the need to balance investor and sponsor demands, highlighting a record-fast spread tightening in recent months and still-increasing interest from an increasingly broad range of investors.

Key points included the impact of investor interest on the cat bond asset class from both traditional allocators, as well as newer types of quantitative investors and wealth platforms. The discussion covered the importance of capacity and pricing, the need for continued evolution in parametric cat bond triggers, and the challenges of managing liquidity in the market.

Panellists suggested that future growth predictions for the cat bond market ranged from 5-10% annually, sometimes higher, with a goal of reaching an asset class sized at around $100 billion in outstanding cat bonds by 2030.

They also discussed the importance of managing capacity against demand and how this could become a challenge as the cat bond market grows, as well as the need to keep improving secondary market liquidity and functionality.

Listen to the full audio of this panel discussion from our Artemis ILS NYC 2026 conference to learn more about conditions in the catastrophe bond marketplace, from the perspective of both investors and sponsors.

This episode features audio from the first panel discussion of the day at Artemis ILS NYC 2026, our tenth catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) conference in the ILS NYC series, held on February 6th 2026 in New York.

The panel was focused on the private insurance-linked securities market segment and titled Private ILS: Achieving portfolio discipline and resilience through the cycle.

This private insurance-linked securities panel discussion was kindly moderated by Lorenzo Volpi, Deputy CEO and Managing Partner, Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP.

He was joined on stage by: Jessica Laird, CEO, Nephila Capital; Michael Stahel, Partner/Portfolio Manager, LGT ILS Partners Ltd.; Eveline Takken-Somers, Head of Insurance Linked Investments, PGGM; and Dr. Raffaele Dell’Amore, Investment Managing Director, Global Head ILS Research, Cambridge Associates.

Our panellists explored the track-record of private placements in ILS, which has been particularly impressive in recent years. They noted the still healthy premium environment, despite recent softening in reinsurance markets, believing strong performance can continue as long as portfolio discipline is maintained. 

The discussion also covered the attractiveness of private insurance linked securities placements versus catastrophe bonds, the importance of transparency and trust, as well as in educating new investors, or those looking to move on from cat bond strategies.

Speakers also noted that the capital raising environment remains more challenged in private ILS and blended strategies, than for pure cat bond funds. But there was a general belief that conditions continue to improve and the track-record of private ILS fund strategies is now attracting increasing attention from institutional investors.

Listen to the full podcast episode from our Artemis ILS NYC 2026 conference to learn more about conditions in the private insurance-linked securities (ILS) marketplace and investors attraction to private reinsurance investment opportunities.

On February 6th 2026, Artemis held its tenth conference in the NYC series in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With over 450 registered attendees, it was the largest catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities market conference hosted by Artemis to-date.

Using the power of AI, you can now listen to a review of the conference that provides insights into the main themes of discussion during the panel sessions at the event.

Please note, being AI generated this is embellished somewhat, but it does provide an accurate representation of discussions that took place, key themes that emerged and how the conference went on the day.

It’s clear from the discussions had at the conference that the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market is in good health, but still has a lot more it can do to meet its potential.

Opportunities abound, but the need to meet them with discipline remains critical, to ensure the resilience and sustainability of the ILS product offering for both protection buyers and investors.

At the same time, the industry has a clear need to continue its process of educating customers on both sides of the trade, while also explaining the beneficial way capital markets can play a growing role in global insurance, reinsurance and risk transfer.

While the ILS market is in good health and considerably more mature in 2026, it still has the potential to grow and evolve much further, to play an increasingly important role by embedding itself ever more deeply into global risk and reinsurance capital provision.

Our sister publication Reinsurance News spoke with David Flandro, Managing Director, Head of Industry Analysis and Strategic Advisory at Howden Re, just weeks after the reinsurance broker released its comprehensive January 1st, 2026, renewal report. 

During the interview, Flandro discussed the opportunities and risks that could emerge from what Howden Re describes as a period of re-balancing, highlighting the important focus on geopolitics and macroeconomics as these trends are a big part of what's happening in the commercial insurance and reinsurance market. 

As geopolitical and macroeconomic trends reshape an increasingly risky world, and reinsurance pricing comes off of its peak in numerous lines of business, there's a clear need for rationality, with plenty of opportunity for underwriters to continue to achieve profitable growth, according to Flandro. 

Listen to this full interview with Flandro of Howden Re, as he discusses reinsurance market conditions in 2026 and how use of capital within reinsurance has changed.