As the catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities market looks to build on its recent strong performance and capitalise on opportunities that are being presented, the need for the sector to do so in a sustainable way came into focus at our ILS NYC 2026 conference held in New York last Friday.
Attendees represented the majority of the insurance-linked securities market, insurance and reinsurance buyers of protection in catastrophe bond and ILS formats, our biggest ever contingent of end-investors, numerous other asset managers and investors seeking education and contacts as they consider the asset class, as well as many of the ILS market’s key service providers.
Our attendees gathered to hear insightful and thought-provoking talks, as well as to benefit from the valuable networking opportunity of being in the venue with one of the largest gatherings of insurance-linked securities specialists ever convened.
More than 250 organisations were represented, with attendees from over 25 countries around the world travelling to join our conference and as far afield as Australia, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
This was our tenth conference in the ILS NYC series and it was as engaging as ever, thanks to the participation and partnership of our expert speakers, supportive sponsors and positively engaged attendees. We thank you all for making the event a success and we valued the chance to meet so many friends and contacts, both new and old.
Our theme for the day was “Insurance-linked securities stability for resilient market growth” and this resonated throughout the conference sessions, as our speakers explored how the ILS market can continue on a sustainable growth curve that both suits investor risk-return targets and tolerances, supports sponsor requirements and the growing need for global risk capital and resilience.
He was joined on stage by speakers: Jessica Laird, CEO, Nephila Capital; Michael Stahel, Partner/Portfolio Manager, LGT ILS Partners Ltd.; Eveline Takken-Somers, Head of Insurance Linked Investments, PGGM; and Dr. Raffaele Dell’Amore, Investment Managing Director, Global Head ILS Research, Cambridge Associates.
Our panellists explored the track-record of private placements in ILS, which has been particularly impressive in recent years. They noted the still healthy premium environment, despite recent softening, believing strong performance can continue as long as portfolio discipline is maintained. The discussion also covered the attractiveness of private placements versus catastrophe bonds, the importance of transparency and trust, as well as in educating new investors, or those looking to move on from cat bond strategies.
Speakers also noted that the capital raising environment remains more challenged in private ILS and blended strategies, than for pure cat bonds. But there was a general belief that conditions continue to improve and the track-record of private ILS fund strategies is now attracting increasing attention.
The evolution of the market over recent years was also a focus, as speakers highlighted the improvements to attachment points and terms, as well as structural improvements made to enhance the robustness of strategies, as well as transparency and liquidity.
Ongoing client education is seen as key for winning private ILS allocations, while once capital is won the timing and strategic use of it is also seen as critical, while also managing client money across market cycles.
The importance of transparency and trust in building investor confidence in ILS remains vital, with consistency of performance and clear communication of risks and benefits needed. Discipline is the key to unlocking long-term partners, the panellists believe, and to strengthen the resilience of ILS over the cycle.
He was joined by: Mariagiovanna Guatteri, Chief Investment Officer, Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Advisors Corporation; Umair Rasool, General Manager, Korra; Callum O’Rourke, VP, Head of Analytics, Neuberger Berman; and Luke Meehan, Chairman & CEO Siena Capital Group, LLC / Executive Chairman, Caterina Technologies, Inc.
Our speakers in this session discussed ILS market infrastructure and its potential for modernisation, as well as the way technology can improve market processes in a sometimes passionate and what some afterwards termed “spicy” discussion that certainly kept the audience engaged.
The panel discussed modernising infrastructure in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market, highlighting the need for better governance, data standardisation, ingestion, ability to re-use and transparency, as well as the potential for advanced technology to drive more fundamental change.
It was highlighted that given the significantly increased flow of deals as market activity rises in recent years, there is a need for solutions to improve data availability and transparency, to support ILS manager and investor needs and decision making as the market expands.
The potential for disruptive market entrants was also discussed, alongside the use of advanced technology to support greater fungibility of capital in the ILS market, as well as liquidity of risk-linked investments. Speakers underscored the need for technological advancements and market evolution, as well as the risk of sitting still.
On the governance side, the flow of information was highlighted as sometimes lacking, especially around key transaction features such as resets and loss reports.
In addition, the need for detailed exposure information was also discussed, while this was highlighted to be just as important in longer-tail classes of business such as casualty ILS as it is in property catastrophe risks.
Artificial intelligence also came up in the panel discussion, with the potential for AI to power workflows and automate processes seen as a key opportunity.
In addition, market inefficiencies were also explored, with the need for better technology and tools one way to smooth those out, while also providing more ways for smaller players to be competitive.
But it was also asked whether the industry is at a suitable level of technological maturity to satisfy the needs of sophisticated, larger players as well.
Alignment of incentives within the industry was also discussed when it comes to innovation and meaningful change, but the importance of winning the hearts and minds of market participants to drive adoption of new technologies and processes was also noted as critical for innovation projects to succeed.
He was joined by: Stephan Ruoff, Co-Head of Private Debt & Credit Alternatives, Chairman ILS, Schroders Capital; Michael Bennett, Global Head Market Solutions & Structured Finance, World Bank; Niklaus Hilti, Chief Investment Officer, Euler ILS Partners; and Paul VanderMarck, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, SageSure.
This panel discussed the current state of the catastrophe bond market and the need to balance investor and sponsor demands, highlighting a record-fast spread tightening in recent months and still-increasing interest from an increasingly broad range of investors.
Key points included the impact of investor interest on the cat bond asset class from both traditional allocators, as well as newer types of quantitative investors and wealth platforms. The discussion covered the importance of capacity and pricing, the need for continued evolution in parametric cat bond triggers, and the challenges of managing liquidity in the market.
Panellists suggested that future growth predictions for the cat bond market ranged from 5-10% annually, sometimes higher, with a goal of reaching an asset class sized at around $100 billion in outstanding cat bonds by 2030.
Managing capacity against demand was explained as one challenge as the market grows, with some speakers calling for greater visibility of the market pipeline to allow investment managers to better align flows with expected levels of market activity.
While strong support from investors and the growing appetite for the catastrophe bond asset class are both very positive signs, it was also said that secondary market liquidity remains vital and also needs to continue improving, needing to keep-up with the needs of a fast-growing market.
On the sponsor side, capacity remains key and there is an expectation that increasing amounts will be sought out in catastrophe bond form, with the capital markets helping them deliver on their client promises and support their projected growth.
For the investors and fund managers, risk selection remains critical to develop robust cat bond portfolios, while discipline on key structural features such as attachment points are seen as the best way to maintain an equilibrium in asset class value and utility for both investors and sponsors.
Here also transparency and trust are seen as key, to support market growth. While at the same time the continued evolution of the cat bond structure and risks it can cover are also seen as ways to accelerate recent market success.
She was joined for the session by: Joanna Syroka, Director of New Markets, Fermat Capital Management, LLC; Chris McKeown, Chief Executive, Reinsurance, ILS & Innovation, Vantage Risk; Danny Arnett, Managing Director, Insurance Linked Securities, Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers; Bob Forness, CEO, MultiStrat Group.
The panellists discussed the evolution and future prospects of the ILS market, highlighting its expansion from property catastrophe into casualty, specialty, and cyber lines.
The discussion placed great emphasis on the importance of underwriting discipline, capital management, and alignment with investors, particularly in new market opportunities that are expected to grow, such as risk transfer for data centre projects and cyber insurance.
The panellists also discussed the need for efficient operational infrastructure and the potential for ILS to become an increasingly tradable asset class.
While continued conversations and investor education on new market opportunities are also seen as key, in addition to the need to confirm underwriting feasibility and investor appetite before launching structured transactions with a differentiated focus.
Speakers explained that they see the health of the ILS industry as at an all-time high, but with the need for continued discipline critical as expansion of the ILS perimeter accelerates.
The fact protection gaps are much more prevalent than just in natural catastrophe risks was also pointed out, with opportunities emerging across many lines of insurance and reinsurance given the need for capital and capacity to support the traditional industries growth, while opportunities like the AI data centre build-out may present completely net-new chances for the ILS market to deploy its capital in time.
On the casualty ILS side, speakers explained the need for transparency, alignment, and patience in managing longer-term risks.
When it comes to new investors and capital sources, our panellists stressed the importance of understanding the fund structure, clear legal agreements, and carefully matching the duration of the fund to both risk and asset sides in certain cases.
Ultimately our speakers pointed to significant opportunities for expansion and that many of the foundational pieces of the market and transaction structure are now coming together to allow for these opportunities to be seized.
But, the requirement for discipline remains as high as ever, while education and strong, aligned relationships between investors, managers and cedents are all seen as increasingly important as the complexity of ILS arrangements grows.
As a reminder our expert moderators were: Lorenzo Volpi, Deputy CEO, Managing Partner, Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP; Harry White, Head of Commercial Strategy, PCS, Verisk; Philipp Kusche, Chairman HCMA Europe, Global Co-Head ILS, Howden Capital Markets & Advisory; Kathleen Faries, CEO, Artex Capital Solutions.
This discussion focused on the stability and resilience of the asset class, with panellists highlighting the importance of underwriting and infrastructure support, with the sophistication of ILS investment managers increasing to meet the growing opportunity.
The need for efficient capital allocation, sustainable growth and infrastructure upgrades to support new lines of business was also discussed, while the maturity of the market and the increasing depth of the investor base is seen as able to drive forward innovation in the space.
In addition, the need for discipline in executing transactions and the important role of technology were also explored.
While speakers also stressed the fact it remains just as important today as when the asset class was born to continue broadcasting the message of the ILS industry and the positive impact it has on society and enhancing insurability through its efficient capacity.
The day ended with a cocktail reception during which our attendees had much to discuss while they networked.
It’s clear from the discussions had at the conference that the ILS market is in good health, but still has a lot more it can do to meet its potential.
Opportunities abound, but the need to meet them with discipline remains critical, to ensure the resilience and sustainability of the ILS product offering for both protection buyers and investors.
At the same time, the industry has a clear need to continue its process of educating customers on both sides of the trade, while also explaining the beneficial way capital markets can play a growing role in global insurance, reinsurance and risk transfer.
While the ILS market is in good health and considerably more mature in 2026, it still has the potential to grow and evolve much further, to play an increasingly important role by embedding itself ever more deeply into global risk and reinsurance capital provision.
Thank you again to everyone who attended Artemis ILS NYC 2026, to our wonderful speakers and supportive sponsors.
We will return and look forward to seeing many of you at next year’s ILS NYC 2027 conference.
Our Artemis London 2026 conference will be held on September 1st this year. Please save the date, tickets will be available soon.
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