Artemis Live: Interview with Luca Albertini & Jillian Williams, Leadenhall Capital Partners

For our latest Artemis Live video interview we spoke with specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund manager Leadenhall Capital Partners’ CEO Luca Albertini and CUO Jillian Williams, who gave us an update on their current view of the ILS and reinsurance market and also explained more about environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities at the firm.

Leadenhall Capital Partners ILS and reinsurance linked assets under management, across non-life and life ILS strategies, surpassed $6.4 billion at the start of this year.

The investment manager also announced that it achieved a classification for its European open-ended ILS funds under Article 8 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which we discussed in more detail in the interview.

All of our Artemis Live video interviews can be accessed directly from our YouTube Channel and we will have more interesting discussions with leaders of the ILS and reinsurance industry to come.

We began by discussing the state of the market and Chief Executive Officer of Leadenhall Luca Albertini explained that, in January, property catastrophe pricing improved and importantly, so too did terms.

Albertini also highlighted the life ILS side, where his firm provides reinsurance and financing capital to life insurers and reinsurers, saying that there could be an opportunity emerging here related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We believe that there will be a higher interest in pandemic cover and life cover in general, so something that can be structured to meet this additional appetite is something clearly we are working on and the industry is working on,” Albertini explained.

He cited the “potential for rekindling the interest on a sector like pandemic,” which he said for capital market players has been in slow decline.

Williams discussed the upcoming reinsurance renewals, saying that, “The 1/4’s have been positive and the Japanese renewals have again shown a positive discussion on rate and good interaction between clients and brokers on structures and what they need for them, as well as what we’re able to do in the market.”

However, Williams noted that looking ahead to the mid-year renewals, the recent winter storm Uri has focused attention on so-called secondary perils again and has also heightened uncertainty around reinsurance renewal timings.

The interview went on to explore environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities at Leadenhall Capital Partners and the pairs thoughts on what more the ILS industry needs to do so it can ensure it is ready to capitalise on investor preference and demand.

The full video interview is embedded below and can also be viewed in full, along with previous Artemis Live video interviews, over on our YouTube channel.

You can also listen in audio to our interviews by subscribing to the Artemis Live podcast here.

We will continue to bring you these interviews with leaders of the ILS and reinsurance industry on an ad-hoc basis, as and when our time and that of our contacts allow.

All of our Artemis Live video interviews have a focus on reinsurance, ILS and the efficiency of risk transfer and can be accessed directly from our YouTube Channel.

You can also listen in audio to these interviews by subscribing to the Artemis Live podcast here.

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