Welcome to Monte Carlo Today
The Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo has again been cancelled in a physical form, due to COVID-19. But this year the industry was prepared. Even more so than last year, the industry has done what it does best—it has rallied together to reproduce the essence of that event, in a virtual form.
In 2021, companies have had more time to prepare. This year, press conferences, launches, roundtables, interviews and other events have all been arranged and will go ahead on various virtual platforms.
The Rendez-Vous’s Organising Committee and the wider industry have both done a fantastic job of recreating the buzz of the event—all online.
As a result, we are doing the same. In the following pages of Monte Carlo Today, we will be reporting on these events as well as providing 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
Cooper calls for post-pandemic improvement in industry standards around terms
The pandemic exposed weaknesses in the re/insurance industry’s use of wordings in policies, and the sector must do better on that and on climate change, says AXA XL’s reinsurance chief.
AXA XL reinsurance chief executive officer Charles Cooper has said that the re/insurance industry has to do better on terms and conditions after claims arising from COVID-19 led to confusion between clients and carriers over what exactly was covered under a swathe of different policies.
Speaking with the Re/insurance Lounge, Intelligent Insurer’s online, on-demand platform for interviews and panel discussions with industry leaders, Cooper warned that outdated policies terms, as well as failures to specify exactly what is and isn’t covered were issues that would continue to hound the industry if improvements were not made.
He said that carriers needed to distinguish on a pricing basis between coverage for specific risks that are clearly defined compared to broad-bases policies which provide a host of cover for clients but can make claims more challenging to process due to the ambiguity involved.
“Terms and conditions is something that we as an industry need to get better at. We started talking about this last year, that there should be a price for very specific coverage, and there should be a price for very broad coverage,” he said.
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
What does the future hold for new entrants to the market?
Bill Cooper of TigerRisk Partners tells Intelligent Insurer about investment opportunities and how he sees the shape of the cycle.
The next steps for ILS: pricing and capacity dominate
With record cat bond issuance, there may be some added complications at the renewals, says Schroders Capital’s Stephan Ruoff.
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
The shape of the renewal season battleground
As brokers, reinsurers, and insurers sit down to hash out new deals and agreements, what tone should the industry expect the renewals to take? SiriusPoint’s Monica Cramér Manhem sheds some light on the potential skirmishes.
If you ask any re/insurance person about Monte Carlo, the answer in 2021 is usually the same: “it’s a shame that we cannot meet face to face this year; this is an industry of relationships; I miss sitting down to eat and drink with my peers”.
The pandemic, in closing some doors, has however left open some windows. Monica Cramér Manhem, president of international reinsurance and managing director at SiriusPoint, sat down in the Re/insurance Lounge to talk about the opportunities and new ways of working that arose as the world shut itself away.
SiriusPoint is a relatively new reinsurer, having been founded last year with the merger of Sirius Group and Third Point Re. Cramér Manhem is responsible for the operations of its reinsurance business across the globe, with the exceptions of the US, Canada, and Bermuda.
An industry that has turned to electronic meetings has managed to find some opportunity in the maelstrom, she said.
