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AM BestTV: Twin Catastrophe Years Bring Caution, Hope to ILS Markets


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OLDWICK - FEBRUARY 06, 2019 02:54 PM (EST)
In this episode of AM BestTV, attendees at Artemis’ ILS NYC 2019 conference in New York, NY, said a string of catastrophe losses dampened the enthusiasm of some investors in insurance-linked securities (ILS), but signs point to continued sector growth and evolution, including hybrid business models. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=ils1219 to view the entire program.

At the third annual Artemis conference, executives pointed to the 2016-2017 catastrophe events as a reason to temper optimism about growth in the ILS market.

“We are coming up on a June 1 renewal that as always will come up faster than everybody is ready for, and we need to get a sense of how these historical losses of the last two years are really coming to bear on the industry,” said Tom Johansmeyer, assistant vice president, PCS, Verisk Insurance Solutions.

Brad Adderley, partner, Appleby, said several ILS providers have moved up to become on par with established reinsurers. “I think we are going to see a lot more rated ‘Re’s’ being formed,” Adderley said. “The ILS player is growing and competing directly with commercial reinsurers.”

Robert DeRose, director, AM Best, said he expects alternative capital to remain in the market for the long term.

“Alternative capital is going to ebb and flow as opportunities present themselves,” DeRose said. “Coming off the two busy years of natural catastrophe events, alternative capital is looking for incremental price improvements. As it is able to achieve those increases, additional capital could potentially flow into the market at mid-year.”

Other executives appearing in this video include:


  • Aditya Dutt, president, Renaissance Underwriting Managers, Ltd.;

  • Judy Klugman, global co-head of ILS, Swiss Re; and

  • Steve Evans, owner, editor-in-chief, Artemis.

Recent episodes of AM BestTV include:


  • Larger, Diversified EMEA-Based Insurers Show Better Results, Says AM Best Senior Director: Mahesh Mistry, senior director of analytics, AM Best, said insurers in emerging markets of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) experienced greater financial volatility in 2018, but that the more well-diversified companies produced stronger earnings: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=emea119 .

  • Gibraltar Insurers Prep for Impact of Brexit, U.K. Motor Changes, Says AM Best Senior Director: Catherine Thomas, senior director of analytics, AM Best, discusses a recent report about how some Gibraltar insurers may have to adapt once the United Kingdom (U.K.) exits the European Union (EU) in order to retain EU business: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=gibralter219 .

  • Employment Growth Boosts U.S. Workers’ Comp Sector, Say AM Best Analysts: Jacqalene Lentz, director, and Associate Director David Blades, both of AM Best, discuss how workers’ compensation insurers have seen premium growth and improved safety, but some loss exposures persist: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=workerscomp119 .

  • U.S. Non-Standard Auto Insurers See Improved Results, Face Obstacles, Say AM Best Analysts: David Blades, associate director, and Bob Skrabal, financial analyst, both of AM Best, review a recent market segment report that shows the U.S. non-standard automobile sector has started to show improvement after a long period of unfavorable results: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=nonstandardauto119 .

AM BestTV covers exclusive AM Best and insurance industry information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the insurance, reinsurance and related sectors daily. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html . View AM BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv .

AM Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry.