All Insurance articles
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White papers
Swap spreads: analysis, challenges and outlook
Swap spreads, key indicators of liquidity stress and risk aversion, play a crucial role for insurers. Beyond measuring price differentials between sovereign and corporate bonds, they directly influence hedging decisions, asset-liability management (ALM) strategies and insurer returns under Solvency II.
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White papers
Parametric Insurance from an Investor’s Point of View
Parametric insurance is emerging as a transformative risk transfer solution, addressing coverage gaps and inefficiencies inherent in traditional indemnity-based insurance.
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White papers
Global preferred and capital securities remain attractive
The Federal Reserve (Fed) should be cutting rates more in 2025, but most likely not before a pause to assess the policy footings of the returning Trump Administration.
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White papers
The Road Ahead: 2025 North America Insurance Outlook
Key themes we see emerging for insurance investors in 2025 involve duration positioning, managing credit exposure, exploring relative-value opportunities, tapping the potential of private markets, and portfolio-liquidity and cash-management considerations.
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White papers
How insurers can harness prime opportunities within direct lending
Within the direct lending universe, the most attractive opportunities lie within the more conservative end of the mid-market, in our view. We explore why this is likely to be the case, how conditions within the asset class have changed and the benefits of direct lending for insurers’ balance sheets.
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White papers
Too risky to cover?
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, insurance losses continue to mount. Some areas exposed to the worst climate risks are now seen as too risky to cover. Michael Yamoah, Navishka Pandit and Judi Tseng assess the implications.
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White papers
The 2024 Election: Navigating Potential Financial Sector Shifts
We believe the outcome of the US presidential election could alter fundamental dynamics across the financial sector: Banking regulation, crypto, private equity, insurance—all stand to be shaped by the winner in November. Here is a look at some key areas and, in our view, the potential implications for investors.
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White papers
The Fed “Recalibrates” to Buy Some Insurance
Rate-cutting cycles have tended to favor risk assets, so it was gratifying to see the central bank get started with a meaningful move.
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White papers
The energy transition: 10 essential indicators for insurers
A concerted global effort is underway to decarbonize industries, particularly the energy sector, through a series of policy and regulatory interventions. This international push, building on the momentum of the Paris Agreement, aims to create a more secure and sustainable future.
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White papers
Insurance Survey 2024
The 13th annual Global Insurance Survey incorporates the views of 359 Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) representing over $13 trillion in balance sheet assets combined, approximately half of the balance sheet assets for the global insurance sector.
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Video
How Insurers Are Addressing Earlier Low-Rate Investments
Ken Griffin recently joined industry leaders on AM Best TV to discuss how insurers are managing assets amid shifting market dynamics and regulatory changes.
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White papers
Capitalizing on aligned interests with banks to diversify revenue streams
Insurance companies are generally able to invest cash at long tenors and face the challenge of investing it in a way that maximizes their return in a capital constrained framework such as the one defined by the Solvency II directive in Europe while maintaining profitability in a volatile financial market.
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White papers
Amundi Insurance Insights #2
In the ever-evolving landscape of the insurance sector, many of the themes identified in 2023 continue to reverberate in 2024. Against a backdrop of slowing growth, high interest rates, geopolitical turmoil, environmental risks, as well as regulatory shifts, insurers are urged to take proactive measures to better position themselves to navigate the complexities of the investment landscape and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
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Video
The Role of Private Markets in the New Regime
While market yields have risen, insurers’ book yields remain low—making it difficult to keep up with claims inflation or compete with higher-rate banking and money-market savings products.
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Video
Dislocation: What Are the Opportunities, and Can Insurance Companies Take Advantage?
Higher rates and tighter financial conditions are leading to capital and liquidity shortages in private markets, creating opportunity for long-term investors prepared to step in as liquidity providers. We identify some of these opportunities and discuss how insurers in EMEA might capitalise on them.
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Video
Higher for Longer: Time to Close the Gap?
Fixed income yields remain near multi-year highs offering an opportunity for insurers to rebuild book yields, secure future investment earnings and continue to close the duration gap that opened up during the low-rate years. With short-term policy rates apparently at their peak, however, this opportunity may not last: now may be the time to lock in those longer-dated yields before they begin to retrace.
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Podcast
Martello Re: Building a Reinsurer from the Ground Up
Dennis Ho, CEO of Martello Re, sits down with Barings’ Colin Gordon to discuss the creation and rapid growth of Bermuda-based reinsurer Martello Re, and how trusted partnerships have been the key to tackling challenges ranging from investment returns to hiring and beyond.
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White papers
Brave New World: 2024 European Insurance Outlook
Insurers likely face a very different investment regime today than they have in the past, with higher and more volatile interest rates as well as structurally higher inflation. We think this will intensify the focus on strategic asset allocation. We offer three themes for insurance investors as 2024 gets under way.
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White papers
Can You Protect the Environment and Your Yield?
Reducing carbon intensity doesn’t mean sacrificing yields. Issue selection in high-emitting sectors can help insurers stay on track with their liabilities.