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

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.

This panel discussion took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th.

This session discussed the role of catastrophe bonds and trends in public sector and sovereign risk transfer, under the watch of moderator Alex Pui, Executive Manager, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The panellists taking part were: Scott McHardy, Head of Risk Finance, Toka Tū Ake EQC; Esther Kim, Senior Product Manager, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re; Michael Bennett, Head of Derivatives & Structured Finance, World Bank Treasury.

The panel session discussed the use of catastrophe bonds in public sector and sovereign risk transfer and the potential for that to increase, with specific relevance to the Asia Pacific region.

The group discussed specific use-cases for cat bonds in public and sovereign risk transfer.

They also explored the broader potential for use of insurance-linked securities (ILS) capacity within these risk transfer arrangements

With a catastrophe bond sponsor on the panel, as well as the World Bank, there was a robust discussion on the benefits of cat bond protection and of bringing the capital markets into catastrophe insurance and reinsurance programmes.

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the use of catastrophe bonds within public sector and sovereign risk transfer programmes.

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 episode features a keynote speech from our ILS Asia 2023 conference on secondary cat bond and ILS trading from Josh Stannack and Steve Emmerson, representing the ILS trading desk at Tullett Prebon.

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.

This panel discussion took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th. 

This session was moderated by Michael Dunsire, Regional Director, APAC, Aon Insurance Managers. 

The panellists taking part were: Simon Goh, Partner, Head of Insurance & Reinsurance, Rajah & Tann; Matthew Song, Executive Director, Head of Corporate and Institutional Client, SGX Group; Tim Yip, Executive Director & Portfolio Manager, ILS Advisers / HSZ Group; Scott McHardy, Head of Risk Finance, Toka Tū Ake EQC. 

Momentum surrounding Singapore's ILS market hub continues to build, and this panel featured a discussion about the future of ILS in the country and what is needed to sustain ILS as a component of Singapore's broader financial activities. 

The group discussed the current status of the Singapore ILS regulatory offering, as well as recent changes to the Singapore ILS Grant Scheme. 

They also explored the broader potential for use of insurance-linked securities (ILS) within Singapore and the Asia Pacific region. 

In addition, a recent first-time catastrophe bond sponsor on the panel, in Scott McHardy, Head of Risk Finance, Toka Tū Ake EQC, discussed the experience of using Singapore as a cat bond issuance domicile and explained how the regulator and service providers had supported the EQC through that process. 

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market in Singapore, the Singapore ILS regulatory regime and the continued investment that the country is making in developing a sustainable ILS hub component within its capital market.

This keynote speech took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th. 

This session featured Stefan Kräuchi and Tim Yip of Hong Kong based ILS investment manager and advisory firm ILS Advisers, which is part of the HSZ Group, discussing the Asian ILS investor landscape from their vantage point of being the only asset manager with a focus on the asset class that is located in the region. 

The pair discussed some of the characteristics of ILS investors in the Asia region, as well as the ILS opportunities to invest in insurance risk originated from that part of the world. 

They also explored the insurance and reinsurance landscape and why, despite having some of the largest reinsurers based there, Asian companies are so far not as advanced in managing ILS capacity themselves. 

In addition, the ILS Advisers duo explored reasons for ILS having a slower uptake in Asia and what holds back more Asian insurance risk making it into the ILS market. 

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the Asian insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, its investor base and the market conditions in this location.

Christian Mumenthaler, the CEO of global reinsurance giant Swiss Re joined us for an interview and explained that he believes that the hard market in reinsurance will be sustained, at least for a few years. 

During this Artemis Live interview, Mumenthaler discusses reinsurance market efficiencies, the insurance protection gap, secondary peril effects, the capital markets and insurance-linked securities (ILS), as well as the current state of the reinsurance market and the outlook for the end of year reinsurance renewals. 

On the outlook for year-end and beyond, Mumenthaler said, "We shouldn't forget that the industry has gone through a pretty bad period with a lot of losses, not just natural catastrophes, also COVID and other things. 

"Reinsurers, in particular, have been a shock absorber for a lot of the negative things of the last few years and, in the end, we're all one value chain and it is necessary that every piece gets the capital from shareholders, and there's a dire need for reinsurance to have a higher return, to go back, to have an average over time that is sufficient. 

"So I see a huge need for reinsurers to become more profitable at this stage and so I think this will also sustain prices as we go through. 

"Now, if you have big losses, I could absolutely imagine prices to go further up. If there's absolutely nothing happening, we will see. 

"So there's this time correlation that's that's going to be playing a role, but overall from an environment, if we have a normal load of nat cat, I absolutely see the hard market to sustain for a few more years." 

Listen to this full podcast episode for more insights from Christian Mumenthaler, CEO of Swiss Re.

This fireside chat interview took place at the Artemis ILS Asia 2023 conference in Singapore on July 13th. 

This session featured a discussion with Lorenzo Volpi, Deputy CEO and Managing Partner of specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager Leadenhall Capital Partners, focusing on his firms operations as a diversified ILS investment manager. 

Volpi discussed the benefits of having a diversified range of strategies available for investors, with funds focused on both the P&C and life sides of insurance and reinsurance opportunities. 

Volpi went on to explore some of the priorities Leadenhall Capital Partners has at the moment, as well as his thoughts on the ILS market within Asia specifically. 

He then spoke about the current ILS and reinsurance market dynamic, highlighting the attractive investment opportunity it currently presents. 

Listen to the full podcast episode to learn more about the operations of a diversified ILS investment manager, as well as Lorenzo Volpi's thoughts on Leadenhall Capital Partner's priorities and market conditions today.