If there was one common talking point at the 2012 Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous, it was possibly how little there was to talk about - unless you were in convergence.
The market's strong growth has been one of the bright spots in the reinsurance sector this year, as the post-2011 rating pressure begins to fizzle out. Naturally, traditional carriers are keen to take a slice of this growth - especially as analysts and media quizzed them in the lead-up to Monte Carlo and during press briefings at the event on how they intend to compete in this changing market.
But many in the Trading Risk world were impatient with this theme and its underlying thesis of competition between the two markets. Guy Carpenter vice chairman David Priebe declared this line of thought "redundant" at the broker's press briefing, arguing that there was no longer any distinction between traditional and non-traditional sources of capital. "The market has converged," he commented.
Nephila's Frank Majors admitted at this roundtable he had ventured back to Monte Carlo after a five-year respite to engage in offensive defence on the market's behalf - only to find it had already slam-dunked its business case with reinsurers and brokers.
Around our roundtable at least, the jostling for position by reinsurers and fund managers played out as a friendly game. What emerged as a much more topical concern in this discussion was how to keep growing the market for peak risk transfer.
To access the Trading Risk Monte Carlo Roundtable 2012 please click here.
Enjoy the read,
Fiona Robertson
Editor,
Trading Risk