ESG investment in insurance-linked securities (ILS)

Tenax Capital, the London based hedge fund investment manager that operates a catastrophe bond strategy, has joined the insurance-linked securities (ILS) industry working-group that focuses on enhancing environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency in the ILS market.

Parameter Climate, the parametric climate risk transfer focused underwriter and advisor, has completed a management buyout of seed investor SiriusPoint, as the latter continues to reduce its equity ownership in program and MGA businesses.

Although there are investors waiting on the side-lines of the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market with an interest in responsible transactions, there’s still a need for a minimum return which outweighs the importance of liquidity and diversification, according to industry experts.

The ILS ESG Transparency Initiative has been formed as a new insurance-linked securities (ILS) industry group focused on enhancing environmental, social and governance (ESG) transparency in the ILS market, as the Swiss-based working group of ILS managers expands with the addition of international members.

Plenum Investments, the Zurich based specialist catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) investment manager, has announced the appointment of Dr. Andreas Rickert as a new member of its Board of Directors.

London headquartered specialty insurance and reinsurance firm Beazley is moving its ESG consortium out of the Lloyd’s Syndicate In A Box (SIAB) framework to sit under its third-party capital backed Smart Tracker syndicate 5623.

Despite the backlash against environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing in certain parts of the United States and elsewhere, capital raising for ESG investments, funds and strategies continues apace, and for investors ESG remains a key driver of allocations.

The design of the recently announced Climate Resilient Development Bond (CRD Bond), an insurance-linked security (ILS) hybrid that integrates catastrophe bond protection and investment in climate resilience, was driven in part by the trend towards risks becoming uninsurable, according to Julian Enoizi, Global Head of Public Sector at Guy Carpenter.

A new financial structure that can provide community-based climate insurance or risk transfer protection from the capital markets, while incorporating resilience, advanced funding for loss-prevention and mitigation, through an insurance-linked security (ILS) designed structure has been proposed.

Bill Dubinsky, Chief Executive Officer of Gallagher Securities, has cautioned that building in more ESG features is potentially helpful but “by no means a guaranteed win-win” for the catastrophe bond product, or for ILS more generally.