The evolving ILS sector: transforming risk into opportunity

Welcome to another must-see edition of Prospective, which this month focuses on ILS – a market that has been highly active this year with 2021 on course to be a record breaker for cat bond and other ILS-related issuances.

After weeks of negotiations, the first part of the mid-year US property cat reinsurance renewal completed today, with 1 June placements dominated by the peak zone Florida market.

Prospective ILS index

ILS capital once again had a meaningful impact on pricing dynamics in what looks to have been a smoother renewal than in the last couple of years for most, with average rate increases significantly tempered.

More broadly the ILS market has been highly active this year and the overall investor interest in the space remains strong, despite the resiliency of the sector being challenged in the past few years by losses that have surprised capital providers, particularly those participating in collateralised reinsurance.. 

But the expectation is that the ILS market will only grow and evolve to play a bigger role in providing risk mitigation capital across the whole insurance and reinsurance chain.

During the 40-minute programme, we dive into these key areas:

  • Key drivers spurring growth in the ILS market
  • Impact of Covid-19 on investor appetite 
  • Lessons learnt from major loss years
  • ILS at the mid-year renewal
  • The future of the ILS market and the “next frontier”

Our guests are Credit Suisse Asset Management’s head of insurance linked strategies Niklaus Hilti, Swiss Re Alternative Capital Partners’ global head of ILS distribution Judy Klugman, Integral ILS’ managing partner Richard Lowther, and Aon Securities’ chief executive officer Paul Schultz.

Look out for follow-up commentary and in-depth analysis of episode segments this week on theinsurer.com/tv