A Perfect Storm: Hurricane Season in Pandemic Times

Northern Europe and Scandinavia have long been the experts in early adoption of ESG investment principles. How is North America catching up? What types of ESG and responsible investing have insurer’s taken on?

A discussion around the different ways to invest in private debt across the risk spectrum (vertical) and types of investment opportunities (horizontal) including investment grade through to middle market direct lending, etc.

Ever-more popular, private equity continues to be a top choice to invest in for insurers’ portfolios. On average, it ranks the second largest allocation, below fixed-income. What are the new trends in private equity investing?

Which asset classes are insurers looking to increase, decrease or maintain allocations towards in the following 12 months? How big of a role does fixed-income, private equity, debt, infrastructure and real estate, etc. play in their portfolios?

49% of US insurers report outsourcing to a third-party asset manager. Traditionally, large insurers have looked to manage investments in-house and smaller insurers relied on external managers. As insurers seek exposure to specialised, diversifying strategies, outsourcing investments to external managers is becoming more prevalent for insurers of all sizes and descriptions. Panelists weigh in on the benefits of outsourcing investments versus going the in-house route.

What are the top global and domestic concerns for insurance Chief Investment Officers in 2020? Considering possible economic slowdown in Europe and the US, recession in China, and market volatility.

Thomas Holzheu, Chief Economist Americas, Swiss Re and Malie Conway, Head of U.S. Distribution, Allianz Global Investors discuss the Macro Outlook on re/insurance asset management.

One of the greatest emerging risks facing the insurance industry today is Social Inflation, which refers to the rising cost of insurance claims due to increased litigation, broader contract interpretations, plaintiff-friendly legal decisions, and larger jury awards influenced by societal trends and views.
•What are the biggest drivers of this phenomenon?
•Which lines of business have been impacted the most
•How millennial bias and the increased use of litigation-funding firms have changed the insurance landscape? What can the P&C industry do to mitigate this threat?

Will the economic fallout from the coronavirus affect the amount of alternative capital seen in the reinsurance market?
•How will the coronavirus affect where some re/insurance companies invest?
•What positives, in terms of new investment opportunities, might arise?

•The impact of the pandemic on primary-side insurers’ demand for cover
•How depleted capital is affecting the rate picture
•The appetite of third-party investors to put up capital at 1.1
•How renewals may be disrupted by the cancellation of events like the Monte Carlo Rendez-vous

Brian Young, President and CEO of Odyssey Group, sits down with Reactions Editor-in-Chief Shawn Moynihan.

Virtual ceremony honouring those firms and individuals that have excelled in North America.

Kevin Kelley, Vice Chairman of Liberty Mutual's Global Risk Solutions, sits down with Reactions' Shawn Moynihan for a 30-minute conversation.

Michael Chang, CEO of Sompo Global Risk Solutions, and Rekha Skantharaja, President & CEO of Tangram Insurance Services, engage in a straight-talk exchange about what's really required to move D&I efforts beyond lip service and intro effective action.

12:30pm-1:00pmKeynote: Bryan Sanders, President, Markel Specialty

•Will we see fewer deals among larger organisations and more transactions (i.e., sales) among small to mid-sized organisations?
•Will larger companies see opportunities after the impact of the coronavirus is clear?
•How have organisations addressed culture clash issues? How can they help to manage a smooth transition?

As COVID-19 continues to affect the world economy, have businesses such as Uber, Airbnb and others experienced serious losses in the aftermath, and will they recover?
•How the sharing economy has been impacted by social distancing and containment measures
•Will social attitudes around sharing resources still affect the number of users as re-openings continue?
•Examining the sharing economy’s possible futures as populations attempt to reclaim a sense of normalcy

Jonathan Zaffino, President, Ascot Group in Conversation with Shawn Moynihan, Editor-in-Chief of Reactions.

Robert Muir-Wood, PhD /Chief Research Officer at RMS, discusses how new science and data is applied to catastrophe modeling and gives us his insights about the future of risk and the quest to improve catastrophe models.