A round-up of #REinsuranceMonth

At The Insurer, we designated September as #REinsuranceMonth and became The ReInsurer to help fill the gap left by the cancellation of the Rendez-Vous de Septembre, the industry’s annual gathering in Monte Carlo.

At the start of the month we identified a list of themes which we anticipated as being some of the major talking points had the industry been able to decamp to the Côte d’Azur. Many of those themes, unsurprisingly, related directly to the pandemic, but of course, the industry faces other pressures as well.

To kick off we explored how the industry’s reputation had suffered following Covid-19 and this was examined in the first of the four virtual panel discussions we hosted this month. 

Discussions around future public/private pandemic reinsurance solutions continued through the month and within our coverage, we revealed the European Commission is to form an official working party to examine the merits of a future public/private pandemic (re)insurance solution.

Hurricanes were a regular theme throughout September but losses, for the most part, appear relatively modest to date. 

Changing dynamics in working practices were another theme we identified at the start of the month. Lloyd’s re-opened its doors at the start of September, and while footfall was initially slow, it had increased to the hundreds by the middle of the month.

The future for the ILS market provided major talking points during September ahead of the forthcoming retro renewals. Investor appetite for cat bonds is rising but concerns still remain about collateralised reinsurance. The potential for more rated carriers to participate in the retro market in 2021 is clear.

While there have been a number of challenges the industry has had to face, it has also been rewarded with opportunities and improvement in areas which have been long overdue - never has there been a more optimistic conversation about rates as there is now. 

Conversations have also focused on how a ‘Class of 2020’ will look. While significant capital has flowed into the industry during 2020, the vast majority of this has been directed at scale-ups rather than new entities.

These are just a few of the thematic highlights from the month and while #REinsuranceMonth is over, we will continue to bring you extensive news and insight ahead of the 1 January 2021 renewals. 

We hope you have all enjoyed this month’s coverage as much as we have enjoyed creating it and delivering it straight into your inboxes as we navigate our new virtual reality together.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors and partners for their support and confidence in our work. 

And that’s, as they say in the business, a wrap! 

Catch with all #REinsuranceMonth content on demand