Aon launches Capital Partners team to expand access to ILS capital

Insurance and reinsurance broking group Aon has announced the launch of a Capital Partners team, that will work to expand access to third-party reinsurance capacity to its clients.

Capital Partners will sit within the Aon Reinsurance Solutions business and its members will help to identify and deliver additional sources of capacity to clients.

The goal is to make use of the most efficient sources of capacity, to help Aon’s reinsurance clients lower their cost of capital, reduce volatility, and seize new opportunities for growth.

It’s yet another demonstration of the importance of third-party capital and insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds or investors within the reinsurance market, as one of the biggest brokers expands its work to connect risks with the capital markets.

Richard Wheeler is set to become Head of Capital Partners, supported by Anshuman Srivastava as Deputy Head, both in addition to existing roles, with the pair reporting to both Nick Frankland, UK CEO of Reinsurance Solutions, and Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities.

Nick Frankland, UK CEO of Reinsurance Solutions, commented, “Capital Partners has been formed to help us to unite our extensive global resources in capital raising and thereby deliver new opportunities to our clients. Alongside Aon Securities’ ILS capability, and Capital Advisory’s Funds at Lloyd’s (FAL) reinsurance capital raising expertise, it will give us another dimension to our investor access.”

Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities, added, “Sourcing capital in its various forms is complex and challenging, particularly in the evolving economic environment. Through innovative capital discussions, the Capital Partners team has been established to support its clients with capacity from a wider investor base, distributed globally across different classes of investors. Working with Aon Securities and Capital Advisory, the team will be responsible for the development and attraction of all forms of third-party and alternative capital into the reinsurance sector.”

Andy Marcell, Global CEO of Reinsurance Solutions, also said, “Matching capital to risk in an efficient and effective manner requires firms to employ more resources than ever before. Uniting our capabilities through this new initiative will help to provide these resources in order that our clients can better access global capital, improve their resilience and realise their growth ambitions.”

The Capital Partners team will focus on “building global investor relationships in support of clients’ wide-ranging capital requirements,” Aon said.

Initially, that will concentrate on bringing third-party investor-backed property catastrophe capacity to clients in London, Bermuda, Europe and Asia.

In future, the Capital Partners team is expected to expand its capabilities into other business lines and regions.

Drawing on expertise from the Aon Securities and Capital Advisory teams, the new unit aims to develop “a compelling proposition for investors that addresses clients’ holistic business requirements.”