Life
News in brief
Bermuda’s life sector continues generate regular news and developments. We pulled together some of the key news stories of recent months.
BILTIR backs BMA changes
Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers (BILTIR) has said it supports the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) proposed enhancements to the regulatory and supervisory regime for long-term commercial insurers, reinsurers and insurance groups on the Island.
On February 24, 2023, the BMA issued its first consultation paper, which it said is intended to serve the double goal of protecting policyholders and contributing to financial stability.
“BILTIR supports enhancements to the regulatory framework which further protect our life and annuities policyholders. The protection of policyholders and cedants is the number one priority of BILTIR member companies,” said BILTIR chair Natasha Scotland Courcy.
The proposed regulatory enhancements cover technical provisions, Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirements, the governance of the EBS framework and BMA fee changes. It will include two field testing exercises which the BMA has indicated will enable it to assess and refine the impacts of the proposed changes.
BILTIR, which represents the Bermuda life insurance and reinsurance industry, encouraged its members to take part in the consultation by providing requested data to the BMA by April 30, 2023.
The BMA has indicated that it intends to release a second consultation paper in Q3 2023 before the proposed changes are brought to legislation. The changes are expected to come into effect on January 1, 2024.
Fortitude Re targets Japan
Fortitude Re has opened a representative office in Tokyo and appointed Hajime Kawafuji as its chief representative.
Kawafuji joins Fortitude Re from global investment firm Carlyle, where he was a senior member of the Japan buyout advisory team. Prior to Carlyle, he spent more than a decade at Nomura in its Investment Banking division. Kawafuji will work closely with Leonard Lin, head of Asia at Fortitude Re.
Catalina General appoints new CEO
Catalina General has appointed a new CEO. John Darin, previously chief financial officer of Catalina General, has been promoted.
Darin, who has vast experience in the insurance industry, particularly in P&C, joined the Catalina group in 2015 as controller of its US insurance companies. Over his career, he has held progressively more senior roles, which began in commercial underwriting, reinsurance accounting, controllership and within public accounting, where he was a manager of large public filer insurance and asset management companies.
Aspida Life Re appoints deputy COO
Aspida Life Re has appointed a former senior executive from Butterfield Bank as its new deputy chief operations officer.
Jenny Kane has more than two decades of industry experience and over a decade in the Bermuda market. As Aspida Re’s deputy chief operations officer, Kane will be focused on ensuring operational controls are followed, optimised, and integrated into Aspida Re’s ERM framework.
Kane served as the global head of operational risk, group operating officer asset management and chief administration officer at Butterfield Bank from 2016 until 2022.
Oceanview Reinsurance hires chief actuary
Oceanview Reinsurance has appointed Timothy Gasaatura as chief actuary. He joins from Corebridge Financial where he served as chief risk officer for Institutional Markets and Life & Retirement (L&R) Strategy.
Gasaatura has a background in valuation, capital management, and risk mitigation across both life and general insurance sectors. Prior to Corebridge, he spent over a year at AIG as chief risk officer for Institutional Markets and Life & Retirement Strategy. Before that, he spent over two years as chief actuary for Langhorne Reinsurance.
He has also held senior roles at Transamerica, Deloitte Consulting, ACE Group, and The Hartford.
Fortitude Re in deal with Lincoln National
Fortitude Re has signed a $28 billion reinsurance agreement with The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation.
Upon receipt of regulatory approvals, Lincoln will reinsure a significant portion of its universal life insurance and fixed annuity business to Fortitude Re. Lincoln will continue to service and administer the reinsured policies.
Alon Neches, CEO of Fortitude Re, said the deal demonstrated why Fortitude Re is the preferred choice for insurers who seek solutions instead of transactions and who want to work with partners instead of counterparties.
Assured Guaranty in Sound Point partnership
Assured Guaranty has completed a strategic partnership with Sound Point Capital Management, an investment manager overseeing approximately $32 billion in total assets.
Sound Point has entered into an agreement to acquire Assured Investment Management and certain of its related asset management entities, which conducts the institutional asset management business of Assured Guaranty.
As part of what it calls a strategic partnership, Assured Guaranty will become a significant equity holder of Sound Point and certain of Assured Guaranty’s US insurance subsidiaries will commit to invest $1 billion over time in Sound Point managed vehicles and separately managed accounts. Sound Point will become the sole alternative credit manager for the Assured Guaranty US insurance subsidiaries.
Fortitude Re closes two deals in Japan
Fortitude Re has closed two reinsurance transactions with Japanese life insurance companies. Both block reinsurance deals, executed through one of Fortitude Re’s Bermuda-based subsidiaries, Fortitude International Reinsurance, comprise whole life insurance policies.
The cedants will continue to service and administer the reinsured policies.
Athora posts results for pivotal year
Savings and retirement specialist Athora Holdings made an IFRS profit before tax of €488 million last year, a 14 percent increase compared to 2021, in a year its CEO described as pivotal for the business.
Meanwhile, its Operating Capital Generation (OCG) of €442 million, representing a year-on-year increase of more than 80 percent.
Assets under management or administration (AuMA) were €74 billion—or after announced transactions, pro forma AuMA, €94 billion, compared to €78 billion in 2021.
Mike Wells, group CEO of Athora, said: “2022 has been a pivotal year for Athora. Amid a volatile economic backdrop, we have delivered strong operating performance, demonstrating the merits of our business model through varying economic cycles, while continuing to execute on our focused growth agenda.”
Kuvare closes three deals
Kuvare Holdings, which operates in the long-term space, closed three strategic reinsurance transactions over the past two quarters, it has confirmed, which expanded its footprint into international markets. The deals bring Kuvare’s total completed reinsurance transactions to 10.
These three additional transactions include two forward-flow arrangements, each with a separate highly rated Japanese life insurer that has introduced new fixed annuity products for retail sales to Japanese consumers.
The third transaction is a block transaction representing reinsurance of in-force annuities issued by a large, highly rated multinational carrier in US dollars, from its Hong Kong platform.
Image Credit: Midjourney / Mcadoodle
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