Insurance Risk & Capital Americas 2023

CRO PANEL DISCUSSION: HEADWINDS ON THE HORIZON AND THE LONG-TERM OUTLOOK FOR THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

• Which factors and dynamics will shape the future performance and landscape of the industry?
• Political and social divide and business instability. What can we learn from the debt crisis?
• Amid soaring property catastrophe losses, what is the outlook for Insurability and the affordability of property insurance in perilous regions going forward?
• Where do the challenges lie and what is the solution?
• How can we expect the product landscape to change in the near to mid-term?
• What emerging risks are on your radar? What is top of your watch list and why?

Moderator:
Ronan McCaughey, Deputy Editor and Commercial Editor, InsuranceERM

Panellists:
Sarah Williams, Chief Risk Officer, Guardian Life
Florian Richard, Chief Risk Officer, Americas and Head of Underwriting Risk, Axa XL
Ophelia Engelhardt-Funke, Chief Risk Officer, Hannover Life Re America

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES IN PRIVATE CREDIT. A DEEP DIVE INTO PRIVATE CREDIT AND APPROPRIATE STRUCTURE FOR INSURERS

Speaker:
Jay Ramakrishnan, MD, Head of Originations, AB Private Credit Investors

PANEL DISCUSSION: CYBER RISK-- BIGGEST THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY FOR INSURERS?

Cyber has been called one of the biggest opportunities for insurers in generations. But it also comes with threats to insurer operations. This panel will consider the current cyber risk threat landscape and look at how insurers can both exploit the opportunities of cyber and manage their own cyber risks.

Moderator:
Sarfraz Thind, US Editor; InsuranceERM and Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Daniel Gorecki, Chief Information Security Officer, Ascot Group
Kathleen A. Birrane, Insurance Commissioner, Maryland Insurance Administration
Yosha De Long, Global Head of Cyber, Mosaic Insurance

CIO PANEL DISCUSSION: GETTING THE PORTFOLIO IN ORDER.
FACED WITH UNPRECEDENTED RATE RISES, A WAR ON INFLATION AND GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS - HOW ARE CIOS REASSESSING THEIR PORTFOLIOS?

• What adjustments (if any) have you made to your portfolio?
• Do you think the new higher rate environment is a temporary change or here to stay?
• What consequences does the high-rate environment have for the portfolio?
• How relevant is the previous asset allocation strategy in the new world?
• What opportunities does the new rate environment bring?
• Are alternative assets still a key focus when it comes to asset allocation? Or with rising interest rates and more favourable bond yields, can we expect a reversal in the recent surge into illiquids?
• How have motivations and drivers vis a vis illiquid assets shifted in the new financial environment?
• Where are we in the credit cycle? Is a default cycle on the horizon
• How are you positioning for a possible default cycle scenario?
• Which asset classes are 'hot' at the moment?

Moderator:
Daniel Finn, Managing Director, Risk Solutions, Conning

Panellists:
David E. Czerniecki, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Nassau Financial Group
Stephen Radis, Vice President Investments, Metlife
Peggy Huang, Chief Investment Officer, SiriusPoint

11:50 PRESENTATION: OPPORTUNITIES IN THE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE MARKET FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES

• What is the outlook for the US housing market?
• What are the different approaches to sourcing Non-QM or Non-Agency mortgages?
• What are the primary performance drivers for Non-QM and what is the current yield profile?
• How interest rate sensitive are Non-QM borrowers?
• Overview of other opportunities in the residential mortgage market including Prime Jumbo, Second Liens, etc.
• Structuring and operational considerations for insurers with regard to allocating to residential mortgages
• What are the key risks in allocating to residential mortgages in today's macro environment

Speaker:
Manish Valecha, CFA, Head of Client Solutions, Angel Oak Capital

PANEL DISCUSSION: NURTURING THE FUTURE TALENT PIPELINE

• Where are we now with the war for talent? What steps have firms taken over the past year to address the challenges around talent?
• Has the balance of power shifted?
• Many insurers have ploughed lots of capital into efforts to secure/acquire/retain talent – has this proved successful and how sustainable is this?
• What other tools are at our disposal other than financial incentives?
• How much progress has been made with D&I initiatives?
• Re-establishing a new 'normal' working environment - is a best practice/gold standard emerging?
• What approaches are different firms taking and what is working/not working?
• What are the key challenges
• Where/what are the trade-offs?
• Implications for attracting and retaining talent
• Succession planning – how do we develop leaders in a hybrid/remote model?
• Managing different preferences across multigenerational groups
• How do you create and nurture a workplace culture in the new look workplace?
• Regulatory interest in company culture – what can we expect in the way of intervention and supervision going forward

Moderator:
Ronan McCaughey, Deputy Editor and Commercial Editor, InsuranceERM

Panellists:
Kamyar Moud, Senior Director, ALM and Investment Strategy, New York Life
Kate Schaeffer, Head of Risk Strategy, MassMutual
Paul Wigham, Enterprise Risk and Business Process Executive, Hippo Insurance (subject to final confirmation)

PANEL DISCUSSION: REGULATION RISK – WITH A RAFT OF POTENTIAL REGULATORY CHANGES ON THE HORIZON, WHAT ACTIONS ARE INSURERS TAKING TO PREPARE & READY THE PORTFOLIO?

• What are your thoughts on the NAIC's proposal to shake up/revise the risk-based capital of CLOs?
• Are concerns over CLO related arbitrage justified?
• How do you feel about the move to enact/introduce interim RBC factors?
• With such polarised views within the industry – is there a compromise to be had?
• As IMR diverges from economic reality, is there a solution on the horizon for the statutory accounting treatment of negative IMR?
• What will all this mean for portfolio management challenges and investment opportunities?
• How should insurers be positioning their portfolios?
• Bermuda's regulatory reform agenda
• How do you think these changes will impact private-equity backed insurers?
• Will we see a shift/change in the insurance landscape as a result

Moderator:
Eric Kolchinsky, Director, NAIC Structured Securities & Capital Markets

Panellists:
Bill Schwegler, Senior Director of Financial Policy, Transamerica
Carrie Mears, Chief Investment Specialist, Iowa Insurance Division
John Golden, Executive VP, Global Head of Insurance Regulation, Athene

PANEL DISCUSSION: INTEGRATING AI AND ITS ASSOCIATED RISKS INTO UNDERWRITING AND RISK FRAMEWORKS

• Where is AI currently being deployed in the insurance industry?
• What future opportunities and risks for the insurance value chain can we envisage?
• Treading the tightrope - How do insurers capitalise on the key opportunities offered by AI to innovate and to improve efficiency and client engagement whilst simultaneously managing emerging associated risks?
• How well do we understand the risk factors surrounding use of AI both within our own organisations and those of the clients with which we underwite?
• How has your company responded to concerns around ChatGPT and data privacy concerns
• Developing an internal policy on use of AI
• Managing the underwriting of the risks associated with AI and what this could mean for the technology we are relying on to inform future business decisions
• Regulation and guidelines surrounding use of AI
• What should 'responsible use' of AI look like and what is the role of the risk team in upholding this?
• With rapid acceleration in AI Capabilities, how can the insurance industry ensure it is ready and able to keep pace?

Moderator:
Ronan McCaughey, Deputy Editor and Commercial Editor, InsuranceERM

Panellists:
Arya Yarpezeshkan, Chief Risk Officer, Managing Director Enterprise Risk Management, AIG 
Frank O'Neill, Chief Risk Officer, Voya Financial
Tony Beirne, Chief Data Officer and Chief Actuary, Cover Whale

PANEL DISCUSSION REVISITING LIQUIDITY RISK MANAGEMENT

• What liquidity challenges has the new rate environment posed?
• Unrealised losses in the investment portfolio
• IMR challenges and complexities
• Lack of historical date on lapse rates during a period of sustained higher interest rates.
• How are we viewing and reviewing liquidity provision in light of SVB failure?
• Where are the sources of additional liquidity?
• Are you deploying different assets strategies in light of liquidity concerns?
• Are you changing your cash strategy in the new rate environment?
• Are you looking to broaden protection?
• Are firms considering other lines of credit?
• Illiquid asset valuation uncertainty risk – to what extent are insurers able to understand and quantify the illiquidity premium in their portfolios?
• How much is too much to spend on liquidity provision?
• When is the right time to hold on to liquidity vs taking advantage of the higher yields available?
• ALM approaches to preventing an insurance run like we have seen with SVB

Moderator:
David E. Czerniecki, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Nassau Financial Group

Panellists:
Amit Agrawal, Head of Fixed Income, Axa XL
Jason Huibregtse, Director of Investment Risk and Planning, TruStage
Kamyar Moud, Senior Director, ALM and Investment Strategy, New York Life
Xiaowei Han, Vice President, Head of ALM, TIAA

PANEL DISCUSSION: ADJUSTING THE BUSINESS MODEL TO THE NEW RATE ENVIRONMENT AND A SPOTLIGHT ON TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE EVOLUTION OF THE LIFE BUSINESS

• What new stress tests have you introduced to reflect the new challenges from the higher rate environment?
• Reviewing and rethinking stress testing capabilities – how do we make stress tests more dynamic?
• How are you using these stress tests to influence how you think about appetite and decision making
• What primary and secondary impacts from inflationary and interest rate changes are we already experiencing and anticipate ahead of us?
• Impact on policy holder behaviour – what are we seeing in terms of lapses? Are our dynamic lapse assumptions holding up for now? What are expectations on purchasing habits over time?
• What is the longer-term portfolio plan to account for assumptions around changes in purchasing habits?
• What can we expect in terms of a shift in product strategy?
• How do you adapt to accommodate elevated Reinsurance costs?
• Trends that will shape the future evolution of the life business
• Where are the opportunities for growth?

Moderator:
Vinaya Sharma, Managing Director, Head of Insurance Business Development, QRM

Panellists: 
Adam Lei, VP, Head of ERM, National Western Life Insurance Company
Brian Schneider, VP Enterprise Risk Management and Chief Risk Officer, CNO Financial Group
Eric Sandberg, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer, National Life

PANEL DISCUSSION: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SPACE

• How concerned should we be about an impending real estate crisis?
• Comparisons to GFC
• Problem areas in CRE
• Potential implications for insurer investment portfolios
• Where are the opportunities and when is the best time to invest?
• Ways to access the commercial real estate market

Moderator:
Vincent Huck, Editor, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Dean Dulchinos, Head of Debt Portfolio Management, AEW Capital Management
Mahir Rasheed, Vice President, Senior Economist, Swiss Re
Sanjana Raturi, Head of Credit Risk, New York Life Insurance
Sean Bannon, Managing Director, Head of US Real Estate, Zurich Alternative Asset Management, LLC

PANEL DISCUSSION: SOCIAL INFLATION AND THE IMPACT OF A RAPIDLY EXPANDING, THIRD PARTY LITIGATION FUNDING MARKET

• Where are the impacts of social inflation most severely felt
• Key drivers behind escalating social inflation
• Shifting social and cultural attitudes
• Influences of social media and legal marketing
• Nuclear verdicts
• Expansion of third-party litigation funding market
• Where is this exposure most prominent
• Quantifying the size of the TPLF market and its impact on social inflation and on the industry?
• Disclosure and regulation of 3rd party litigation funders
• What role can the insurance industry play in tackling social inflation
• Risk management and mitigation solutions

Moderator:
Sarfraz Thind, US Editor; InsuranceERM & Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Laure Forgeron, Chief Underwriting Officer Casualty, Managing Director, P&C Reinsurance, Swiss Re
James Whittle, Vice President & Counsel, American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)
Saadia Savory, Vice President, Excess Casualty, Aspen
Thomas M. Dawson, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery LLP

PANEL DISCUSSION: WHAT NEXT FOR PRIVATE ASSETS?

• How much private assets is the right amount? What role are they playing?
• What impact (if any) has the shift in rates had on your private market allocation?
• What has driven allocations to private market assets in recent years and which allocations are persisting?
• How are current private market assets performing/being viewed in the higher rate environment
• Private debt – income opportunities over public and is it worth it? Will we see spreads widen over the next couple of years?
• Private equity – a good option in recessionary times? Trade off on liquidity
• Where are the current opportunities in private markets and what are the ways to access?

Moderator:
Rob Leeming, Journalist, Insurance Asset Risk

Panellists:
Chip Stevens, Senior Managing Director, Global Head of Structured Private Credit and Alternatives, Global Head of Macro and Derivatives, Aflac Global Investments
Nancy Mueller Handal, Managing Director, CIO, Bayview Asset Management
Russell Gao, Senior Vice President, Head of Investment Strategy and ALM, Fortitude Re