Welcome to Baden-Baden Today
The world is slowly returning to some semblance of normality, and the fact that the Baden-Baden Reinsurance Meeting is going ahead in a physical form this year is a welcome early indication of that.
There will be big differences, however. COVID-19-related restrictions and safety measures are in force, while testing and proof of vaccination will be required for some events. It will be a much smaller event this year—but events will happen, and executives will meet face to face.
That is a welcome step forward. Around the meeting in Germany, as negotiations around the renewals season gather pace, many more events, debates and discussions will continue to take place in a virtual form.
The timing of the physical meeting in Baden-Baden acts as a focus for these—an important mark in the calendar.
For this year’s edition of Baden-Baden Today, we reflect this blended approach the industry is now using to conduct business.
We have done many video interviews during the week before Baden-Baden. We will also report on the press conferences and events happening around the conference and speak to individuals who are attending in person.
This allows us, as ever, to provide in-depth analysis of industry news and opinion, based on our speaking to the most senior leaders in the industry—asking the challenging questions and delivering the answers.
For the first time, this year the publication is truly multimedia. Almost all of our exclusive interviews and panel discussions are available in these pages for you to watch and listen to—in addition to reading our reporting on them.
We hope you find the content in these pages useful and informative—it may even give you an edge on the competition.
Wyn Jenkins, managing editor, Intelligent Insurer
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
New capital will dampen rate hikes: Acrisure Re
There are widespread hopes that reinsurance markets will secure rate increases after a loss-impacted 18 months, but new investment continues to pour into the sector, says partner David Sowrey.
Given the scale of losses faced by the industry over the past 18 months and growing questions over whether current pricing is adequate to meet the risks the market is taking on, attention has turned to this renewal season to hopes from some quarters for significant rate rises in reinsurance.
With investors eyeing the market’s failure to meet its cost of capital for the past five years and concerns about risks ranging from climate change to cybersecurity, there have been calls from several carriers for increases in pricing to meet the risks at hand.
However, at the same time, capital continues to be attracted to the industry as rock-bottom interest rates around the globe push investors to hunt for returns elsewhere, and this dynamic is throwing up uncertainty over whether prices will rise at the rate that carriers hope.
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
Resilience amid uncertainty: SiriusPoint’s Cramér Manhem describes an industry grappling with change
With a higher frequency of cat losses, and as clarity emerges around COVID-19, there will be a realignment around pricing, says Monica Cramér Manhem, president, international reinsurance at SiriusPoint.
Since we launched in February, our focus has been on laying the groundwork for a profitable and sustainable reinsurance portfolio. Our focus for 2022 will be on building on that profitability and stabilising our offering.
As we progress with stabilising our core book, 2022 will see us continuing to work closely with clients and brokers to develop opportunities in niche specialty lines where we have been building on our existing expertise and talent to truly differentiate our offering.
