Integral ILS Ltd.

Integral ILS Ltd. launched in July 2020 as a new insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance-linked investment fund manager, domiciled in Bermuda.

Integral ILS Ltd. has been launched by experienced ILS market executives Richard Lowther and Lixin Zeng. Lowther was previously the Managing Principal of Hiscox ILS. Lixin Zeng was CEO of AIG’s AlphaCat ILS unit. The pair had previously worked together at AlphaCat when it was under Validus Group ownership.

Integral ILS has partnered with origination focused insurance distributor and servicer AmWINS Group and ILS and third-party capital experienced reinsurance firm TransRe, both of which will have stakes in the start-up ILS fund manager.

We understand that Integral ILS will begin its operations by underwriting using a special purpose insurer (SPI) named Integral Reinsurance Ltd. (Integral Re).

Integral ILS aims to create high-quality ILS portfolios, underwritten thanks to its comprehensive access to the entire insurance value-chain through its strategic alliances with risk origination partners AmWINS and TransRe.

The company hopes to outperform by putting superior risk selection to work, leveraging scientific and analytical resources to ensure robust portfolios are created. The investment manager also attempts to mitigate the risks of trapped capital, wherever it can.

Catastrophe risk will be the focus and Integral ILS will underwrite insurance, reinsurance and retrocession, but with all exposures fully-fronted to begin either via an AmWINS MGA participant carrier, or via reinsurance company TransRe.

Integral ILS Ltd. aims to create ILS investment portfolios and an independent ILS investment management business with less execution risk, lower friction and frictional costs, with reduced risk of capital being trapped.

Integral ILS announced its first investor commitment in November 2020 from Canadian pension giant the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments).

In January 2021, Integral ILS announced a second cornerstone investment from alternatives specialist New Holland Capital.

At the same time the company explained it had around $600m of commitments, from these two cornerstone allocations and some smaller investor allocations as well.

Assets under management had increased to $675 million as of July 1st 2021.

At the end of 2021, in time for the renewals, Integral ILS had further success in raising new assets, with new commitments received from its cornerstone investors PSP Investments and New Holland Capital.

For 2022, the manager reported just over $1.4 billion of capital committed to its ILS fund strategies, with $1.1 billion already deployed and the remainder to be deployed at the mid-year 2022 reinsurance renewals.