Download Life Risk News Volume 3, Issue 4, April 2024

Unsurprisingly, given its growth and potential for capital optimisation, UK regulators have been carefully watching the increased use of funded reinsurance, writing a letter to Chief Risk Officers at insurers in June last year, and following that up in November by issuing a consultation paper. Aaron Woolner spoke to Michael Abramson, Partner at Hymans Robertson and Craig Turnbull, Partner at Barnett Waddingham to get their thoughts on the current state of the space in UK Regulators Look To Understand Funded Re Risks. 

At the beginning of February, UK trade group the Equity Release Council (ERC) published data summarising activity in the market for both the fourth quarter of last year and the full year. The bottom line was that 2023 saw the market serve its lowest total number of customers on an annual basis in the last seven years. Greg Winterton spoke to Ben Grainger, Partner at EY and Nicola Kenyon, Head of Insurance Investment and ALM, Insurance and Financial Services at Hymans Robertson, for their views on the state of the market now and what might drive an upswing in activity in Plenty of Interest in UK Equity Release Market Despite Down Year in 2023. 

There has been a concern among some industry commentators in recent years that smaller schemes seeking an insurance solution in the UK’s pension risk transfer market may be left on the sidelines. Greg Winterton spoke to Iain Church, Head of Core Transactions at Hymans Robertson to learn more about why this fear hasn’t materialised in Smaller Schemes Still Finding Appetite Despite Red Hot UK Pension Risk Transfer Market. 

The role played by providers in the life settlement industry benefits both the asset manager and the consumer – and ultimately, the investor allocating capital to the manager. Bill Corry, Managing Partner at asset manager Corry Capital Advisors, explains the additional benefits that a vertically integrated provider brings to asset management firms in Understanding Vertically Integrated Providers in the Life Settlement Market, a guest article. 

It’s well documented that the pension risk transfer market in the UK has a human capital problem, in the sense that there aren’t enough people to fill the vacancies in the space. Greg Winterton spoke to TC Jefferson, Managing Partner at executive search firm The Plenum Group, to get a recruiter’s view on exactly what’s going on in the hiring market in this month’s Q&A. 

Life insurance in the US comes in a range of types, each with their own nuances. However, the life settlement industry heavily favours a specific type. Greg Winterton spoke to Michael Freedman, CEO at Lighthouse Life, to learn more in Term Life Insurance in the News but Universal Life Still the Dominant Policy Type in Life Settlement Market.