Covid-19 news

The latest in our series of Artemis Live video interviews with leaders of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance markets features Luca Albertini, CEO of London headquartered insurance-linked securities (ILS) and reinsurance related investments manger Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP.

Current insurance and reinsurance market dynamics suggest that it could be an opportune time for startups to enter the property/casualty market, according to Brad Adderley, Partner at Appleby, Bermuda.

The United States Treasury has shown in a letter that it is opposed to legislative moves that could force retroactive business interruption claims related to the Covid-19 pandemic onto the insurance and reinsurance industry.

Renaissance Re, the Bermuda-based reinsurance underwriter and manager of increasing amounts of third-party capital, believes that Covid-19 uncertainty means “substantial amounts of collateral will be trapped” at the end of 2020, the firms CEO Kevin O’Donnell has said.

Reinsurance companies are set for their fourth technically unprofitable year of underwriting in a row according to rating agency Fitch, who forecast that combined ratios across the sector will rise to 103.5% due to the impact of Covid-19 losses.

Elementum Advisors, LLC, the insurance-linked securities (ILS) fund management and collateralised reinsurance underwriter that is 30% owned by White Mountains, earned $37 million in fee revenues in 2019, which was a roughly 9% increase in revenues on the previous year.

Rating agency A.M. Best said that varying pandemic related impacts are to be expected for the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, with the most concerning likely the fact that collateral could be trapped for years given the significant uncertainty over potential losses.

The insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralised reinsurance market is still hunting for the right-balance between serving insurance and reinsurance cedents with the protection they need, while dealing with finite term securities, according to Paul Schultz, the CEO of Aon Securities.

Broker Willis Re has called on its clients and their counterparties to “accelerate the reinsurance calendar” as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to avoid any undue delays.

For our latest Artemis Live video interview I had a detailed and interesting discussion with Stephan Ruoff, the Deputy Head of insurance-linked securities (ILS) asset manager Schroder Secquaero, a specialist division of global investment group Schroders.