RVS 22 the most urgent call to arms in a decade
It’s not to the same degree, but everywhere is simultaneously experiencing some hardening, says Hiscox Re & ILS CUO.
The first gathering in three years of P&C re/insurers in Monte Carlo is not merely a longed-for opportunity to reconnect in person, but the most urgent call to arms in a decade, Matthew Wilken, chief underwriting officer for Hiscox Re & ILS, told Monte Carlo Today.
Commenting on the implications of the hardening market, which has been the main talking point in Monte Carlo, he said: “Timing is everything.”
“There is increasing demand at a time when capacity is arguably plateauing,” he explained. “There are various protagonists in the market who think it’s marginally up and some who think it’s marginally down but, broadly, there’s not going to be systemic change to capacity in the next year.”
While capacity “stands still”, however, demand is increasing largely because inflationary pressures are resulting in customers wanting to buy more cover.
“I don’t know what that’s going to end up being in terms of the total market, but billions of dollars of limit is probably what customers are going to be looking for,” Wilken said.
That situation is in addition to a number of secondary peril events, such as hail and convective storms in the US, Australian floods, and the impact of the war in Ukraine on aviation, marine and energy lines.
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
A sneak preview: more exclusive content and interviews inside
Widespread cat capacity crisis is ‘nonsense’, says Gallagher Re’s Vickers
Capacity is available and the largest European reinsurers are even willing to write more, says Gallagher Re’s Vickers.
The idea of a widespread cat capacity crisis is “nonsense”. Capacity is available and the largest European reinsurers are even willing to write more—with the exception of US cat peak zone risks, James Vickers, chairman, international, reinsurance, Gallagher Re, told Monte Carlo Today.
“Everywhere else, it comes down to price and terms and conditions,” he said. “Yes, we have seen some carriers withdraw but the biggest players are leaning into this space. And our overwhelming sense from the Rendez-Vous so far is that more reinsurers are talking about growing than shrinking.
“Many see that prices are moving in the right direction, towards realistic levels. It is a case of now or never; people want to grow. Some of the headlines about capital shrinking is simply because of unrealised losses on investments. Regulatory capital is very robust,” Vickers said.
He believes most reinsurers value a deep, long-term relationship with cedants that spans multiple lines. “If you write one line and there is a loss, it is a problem. If you write multiple lines and there is a loss on just one, it is less of an issue,” Vickers said.
