London/New York/Munich/Paris/Singapore:
In line with the growing importance of non-traditional insurance solutions for global businesses, Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is reshaping its Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) line of business into two new specialist teams. With effect from November 1, 2018, the Insurance-Linked Markets team becomes a standalone line of business known as Capital Solutions, led by current ART Chief Underwriting Officer Richard Boyd.
The remaining ART practice groups providing Corporate Solutions, Reinsurance, and Climate Solutions will continue under the existing name of Alternative Risk Transfer, led by Michael Hohmann who moves to ART from his current position as Global Head of Liability at AGCS.
“Large companies are increasingly seeking to assume more control over their risk management beyond traditional insurance products in property or liability. With our two new lines of business, we can respond to these needs by designing multi-line, multi-year, parametric or capital-market solutions to protect our clients from earnings and cash flow risks. Our new structure and leadership team will help AGCS to further evolve and grow this important segment of our business”, says Hartmut Mai, AGCS Board Member and Chief Underwriting Officer Corporate.
In its previous ‘combined’ set-up, ART has developed into a major line of business for AGCS globally, contributing EUR 1.135 billion of gross written premiums in 2017, including fronting revenues.
Increasingly, larger multinational businesses demand more than a product-based response, looking for customized solutions to their more complex emerging or ‘intangible’ risks which often cannot be covered adequately under traditional insurance. The tailor-made approach of the new ART line of business brings together AGCS and ART products and services within a bespoke solution, often including non-traditional covers on a multi-line, multi-year basis.
Similarly, there is increasing demand from both investors and insurers for products which bring together the insurance and capital markets.
These so-called Insurance Linked Securities products are typically where capital market investors such as pension funds are interested in accessing insurance risks to diversify their portfolios, for example through catastrophe bonds.
As a global insurer with an unusually diverse portfolio, AGCS is ideally placed to source insurance risks – typically event-driven risks such as earthquakes and hurricanes – that can then be structured by the Capital Solutions team into a form that is acceptable to capital market investors.
Ciara Brady to lead Liability line of business globally
To succeed Michael Hohmann as Global Head of Liability, Ciara Brady joins AGCS from January 1 2019, moving on from her current role as Head Casualty Treaty Global and International for Swiss Re.
In a career spanning almost 20 years in the insurance industry, both in Canada and Switzerland, Ms. Brady joined Swiss Re in 2005 in Toronto, and since that time has taken on increasingly senior roles in casualty underwriting. She will be based in Zurich, but will travel frequently to key AGCS global locations for the Liability business.
In the interim phase between November 1 and January 1, AGCS’ Deputy Global Head of Liability Alfred Henneboehl assumes responsibility for Liability, working closely with the global Liability leadership team to steer day-to-day operations. The focus of Paul Schiavone, current Global Head of ART, will shift to his existing regional responsibility as North America Head of Long Tail Corporate Lines.