asia pacific

If Singapore and Hong Kong are able to establish themselves as valuable domiciles for insurance-linked securities (ILS) business, it should spur local reinsurers to develop capabilities as the investor base swells in tandem.

The impact and subsequent loss creep from typhoon Jebi in Japan in 2018 caught many insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors by surprise, but the eventual deviation from initial vendor model loss estimates doesn’t translate to a fundamental issue with the models themselves, say industry experts.

Knowledge and understanding of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset class is on the rise in Asia, and while local expertise is a real benefit, it’s also vitally important to communicate early and persistently with the investor base, according to industry experts.

The fragmentation of the Asia region means that for insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers, it’s more practical to focus on the locations with the more mature and larger institutional market, according to Timothy Yip, Executive Director at ILS Advisers.

Insurers operating in the Asia Pacific region need increasing amounts of reinsurance protection following a series of costly catastrophe years and the COVID-19 pandemic, but they should look broadly at both traditional and alternative forms to secure the most efficient protection in the hardening market environment, according to rating agency S&P.

Paul Schultz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aon Securities, expects to see different types of sponsors increasingly enter the insurance-linked securities (ILS) marketplace in Asia and also around the globe.

The trend of insured against uninsured losses across the Asia Pacific region is not sustainable, and the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market will need to play an integral role in addressing the issue, according to Paul Schultz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aon Securities.

Insurance-linked securities (ILS) and catastrophe bond limits at risk of losses in the Asia Pacific region continue to expand, according to reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, which results in increasing global diversification opportunities for the ILS investor base.

Catastrophe risk modelling specialists RMS have launched version 18 of their risk model suite, brining with it a raft of additions and expansions, particularly in the Asia Pacific region where new perils have been added including a focus on flood risks.

Asia’s reinsurance markets have the potential and scope for strong growth as risk-awareness and demand for reinsurance coverage spikes in the region, coupled with a significant protection gap and the region’s high exposure to losses from natural catastrophes, according to Fitch Ratings.