Alize launches for underwriting & actuarial services, led by Gulbransen

Alize Ltd., a new actuarial and underwriting services firm has been launched in Bermuda by managing director Brian Gulbransen, previously of ILS Capital Management and Capsicum Re, with a goal of assisting brokers and intermediaries with reinsurance and retrocession placements.

Using proprietary analytical and actuarial tools that it has developed, Alize can advise on the planning and structuring of marine, energy and aerospace reinsurance or retrocession programmes for brokers and intermediaries customers.

Alize also has access to capacity, to assist in making the placement process smoother, with a strategic alignment that it has entered into with insurance and ILS management specialists Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd.

The pair have structured a facility to provide A rated capacity for both proportional and non proportional reinsurance and retrocessional products. Given Gulbransen’s background and Artex’s ILS sector experience, it’s easy to imagine the pair also setting up a collateralised facility in the future.

Brian Gulbransen will lead the Alize Ltd. business as managing director, bringing more than 30 years’ of reinsurance industry experience, most recently as a partner at broker Capsicum Re, prior to which he worked for ILS and collateralised reinsurance specialist ILS Capital Management as chief underwriter of specialty reinsurance.

Tim Starr joins Gulbransen at Alize, taking on a role as actuarial data scientist.

Gulbransen commented, “The launch of Alize signifies a shift in the way the Bermudian market will price and structure risk. I am looking forward to working on diverse and interesting reinsurance and retrocession products that will add real value to our customers to help them manage their portfolios of specialty risks.”

It’s an interesting move, as it takes some of the broker role and some of the underwriter role, but puts it into the hands of experts that have access to capacity, but no balance-sheet or direct third-party investors to service.

In this way Alize Ltd. will seek to offer pricing and structuring services to the marketplace, with an agnostic view as to where those risks are placed.

For some time now we’ve been writing at Artemis about how the roles may change at re/insurers, with key roles being as the analysts, structurers and pricers of risk, as the sector’s capacity moves increasingly towards third-party funds, facilities etc.

Alize could also be an interesting service provider partner for third-party investors looking to access the space, but lacking in the access to business and underwriting expertise in the specialty risks arena.

The launch of Alize Ltd. is timely, given the losses that the market has faced in recent weeks. Re/insurers will be looking for new solutions to help them to manage their risks better, and Alize led by Gulbransen will be hoping to help them to achieve that, without the burden of owning the ultimate capacity source as well.

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