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How insurers are tackling the illiquid asset challenge

James Fermont discusses how there has been a step-change in insurers’ engagement and willingness to take on illiquid assets from DB schemes —and why this trend is likely to continue. As UK defined benefit (DB) pension scheme funding levels rose significantly following the gilts crisis, many trustees found themselves in the unexpected, but welcome, position of being able to insure their liabilities in full many years ahead of plan.
Posted on Friday Feb 21

Solvency under scrutiny

The topic of solvency has garnered significant attention recently, with the results of a Europe-wide stress test shedding light on insurers’ positions in the bloc; the publication of the UK’s new Solvency regime; and the launch of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s 2025 Life Insurance Stress Test (LIST). For the Europe-wide stress test, participating insurers from the European Economic Area (EEA) were assessed under a hypothetical scenario by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
Posted on Thursday Feb 20

Bitcoin is it currency a store of value or pure speculation

Bitcoin has generated significant interest among investors, institutions, and governments worldwide. While some view it as a potential future currency, others regard it as primarily speculative. This article examines bitcoin’s potential use cases and assesses its long-term value. This article will address the following key questions: Can bitcoin become a globally adopted currency? Could bitcoin become a store of value? Is bitcoin’s price purely speculative? Should institutional investors consider bitcoin?
Posted on Wednesday Feb 19

DB Funding Code and Run on

Pension Playpen video with Hymans Robertson's Laura McLaren and Graham Jones presentation on How the introduction of the Funding Code and run-on debate are impacting approached to funding.
Posted on Tuesday Feb 18

Influential 2025 trends for Property and Casualty insurance

As we enter 2025, the property and casualty (P&C) insurance sector finds itself at a critical crossroads. Mounting challenges, such as climate-driven catastrophes including the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and rapidly evolving customer expectations, are pushing the sector to adapt quickly. At the same time, breakthrough technologies like generative AI (Gen AI) and advanced risk modelling are redefining how insurers assess, price, and mitigate risk.
Posted on Tuesday Feb 18

Key actions for Trustees under TPRs new funding regime

In December 2024, The Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) issued its long-awaited update to its covenant guidance. This update provides insights into TPR’s expectations on how covenant assessments should be undertaken to comply with the new funding regime.As covenant advisers we’ve spent a while getting into the technical aspects of the covenant approaches required in the new regime.
Posted on Monday Feb 17

EIOPAs Prudential Treatment of Sustainability Risks

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)’s latest report on the Prudential Treatment of Sustainability Risks marks a significant step in aligning prudential frameworks with sustainability objectives. Focused on transition risks, non-life underwriting impacts, and social risk integration, the report outlines potential changes that could reshape insurers’ balance sheets and capital strategies. Headlining the recommendations is a call for higher capital charges to reflect transition risks in fossil fuel-linked assets:
Posted on Friday Feb 14

Using insurance to add value in fund finance

As both banks and private credit funds step up fund finance activity, insurance could provide crucial competitive advantage. In a fast-growing fund finance market, lenders need agility and capacity to meet demand, while supplementing strong credit risk management. Non-payment insurance, protecting lenders against fund/borrower defaults, could provide many of the answers. An increasing number of fund finance lenders see insurance as a critical enabler of continued and accelerated growth.
Posted on Thursday Feb 13

Strengthening risk governance for sustainable success

Organisational failures like those seen with Carillion, the Post Office or BHS show the vital role of effective risk governance. Beyond avoiding pitfalls, strong governance enables organisations to embrace opportunities and achieve strategic goals. This blog explores how boards can align purpose, strategy and risk management to drive success and prepare for changes to the UK Corporate Governance Code. Good risk governance goes beyond preventing negative outcomes — it empowers organisations to take informed risks and seize opportunities that drive success.
Posted on Wednesday Feb 12

Is Your Customer Data AI Ready

Insurance providers hold billions of pieces of customer data but just how AI ready is that data? There is little doubt the market is on the cusp of a revolution with generative AI and even more emerging technologies allowing insurance to become far more personalised to the individual. It’s been dubbed the ‘personalisation revolution’. This is exciting but the market will only be able to leverage this technology if their customer data is ready.
Posted on Tuesday Feb 11

Putting faith in default funds

We live in a diverse society with many commonalities – one of which is the need to save for retirement. Many people are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, with contributions invested into a default investment arrangement. In UK defined contribution pension schemes, the default will typically invest in a range of higher risk asset classes when savers are younger, moving to less risky assets as savers get closer to their chosen retirement age.
Posted on Monday Feb 10

Unlocking the potential of IFRS 17

Since its implementation on 1 January 2023, IFRS 17 has transformed the landscape of financial reporting for insurance contracts. Listed companies have now navigated through half-year 2023, full year 2023, and half-year 2024 disclosures, gathering invaluable insights into the financial and operational impacts of this standard. This wealth of experience opens the door for insurers to: enhance operational efficiency; optimise financial outcomes; and consider whether the new information provided by IFRS 17 will lead to any refinement of their strategies.
Posted on Friday Feb 7

The future of asset management with generative AI

In a time of ever-changing technology, generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) has become a key tool in asset management. It is transforming how asset managers analyze data, make decisions, and create portfolios that are finely tuned to the needs of investors. It also improves operational efficiency and expands analytical capabilities. Recent reports, such as the KPMG 2024 Asset Management CEO Outlook(1) and the joint analysis by Oliver Wyman and Morgan Stanley(2), emphasize the strategic significance of generative AI in the industry.
Posted on Thursday Feb 6

Are DB Surpluses a game changer

Pension Playpen discuss DB Surplus and how it can best be used but also about the changes in the Surplus regime could change the way that DB schemes invest. They also discuss how members need protecting and how this all fits in with the broader pensions and policy landscape.
Posted on Wednesday Feb 5

The Role of Cyber Catastrophe Bonds

As firms look to best protect themselves from malicious cyberattacks, we explore the pros and cons of expanding the role of capital markets in increasing the capacity of (re)insurance coverage. We explore the relatively new market for cyber catastrophe bonds, why they are important for the economy, and the potential pitfalls. What is a cyber catastrophe bond? To answer this question, we must first understand a catastrophe bond.
Posted on Wednesday Feb 5

Secondaries unlocking opportunity beyond private equity

Secondary markets are those which enable investors to buy and sell assets which have already been issued. They have existed in public equity and debt assets for many years, accessed via well-established exchanges or over-the-counter between brokers. Within private asset markets, investors have typically purchased assets via the primary issuance market (i.e. directly from the issuer). However, private secondary market fundraising has been steadily increasing as investors have sought additional flexibility, increasing materially over 2023.
Posted on Tuesday Feb 4

Hot town some more diversity

One slightly left-field observation from watching sports is that, in most cases, there are very good metrics. It’s generally easy to know who’s better than whom (though this is less obvious in gymnastics and diving, at least to me). When measuring who runs faster, jumps higher, or throws darts more accurately, the metrics are close to perfect. I would argue that, in general, the metrics in business are much worse. For example, it’s much harder to pick a great fund manager than to notice that Erling Haaland is a great striker.
Posted on Monday Feb 3

January 2025 Edition of the Actuarial Post Magazine

A belated Happy New Year to all our readers and welcome to our first edition of 2025. Following on from last month’s winner’s edition of the magazine our Actuary of the Year, Gareth Connolly visited sponsors PIC at their new offices in Ropemaker Street to officially receive his award from them. Our cover story this month is from Andrew Pollard from SAS on how AI is transforming actuarial models. In addition, Luca Russignan from Capgemini examines the influential trends that will shape P&C insurance in 2025.
Posted on Friday Jan 31

The climate collaboration fall out

In mid-January 2025, we saw the Net Zero Asset Manager (NZAM) initiative suspend its activities following a wave of asset managers exiting the group. So, is NZAM just a victim of culture wars or is there a more serious move away from climate commitments by asset managers that investors need to be aware of and potentially worried about? What has happened with NZAM and wider climate focused asset management initiatives to date and proposed action for investors concerned about this emerging theme.
Posted on Thursday Jan 30

What can we expect from the derisking market in 2025

Prediction 1- Another busy year in the de-risking market. The step up in demand over recent years is expected to continue, with 2025 predicted to be another bumper year in the de-risking market. The relatively stable market conditions over the last year (until recently) have meant schemes’ funding levels have generally continued to improve. Further, more trustees and corporates have been actively focussing on dealing with their illiquids, drafting benefit specifications and working on their data.
Posted on Tuesday Jan 28

What is in store for Fiduciary Management and OCIO in 2025

It struck me this week that 2025 is a landmark year, one which will kick off ‘Quarter 2’ of the 21st Century. In this article, we look ahead to what could be in store for defined benefit (DB) pension scheme investing this year, specifically outsourced investment arrangements such as Fiduciary Management (FM) and Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO). Here are some major themes we expect to see in DB pensions over the next twelve months.
Posted on Friday Jan 24

Navigating a complex threat landscape terrorism trends 2025

This article delves into the key trends expected to shape the global terrorism threat landscape in 2025. The global terrorism landscape is becoming increasingly complex, shaped by a multitude of factors. From the enduring ideologies that drive terrorist groups, to the growing risk posed by state - sponsored aggression and lone-actor extremists, the breath and scope of these threats are continuously shifting. Against this backdrop, this article delves into the key trends expected to shape the global terrorism threat landscape in 2025.
Posted on Wednesday Jan 22

Technology transforming insurance from AI to Cyber Risk

The insurance industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rapid advancements in technology. From property and casualty to life insurance, the role of digital solutions has never been more important. Today, it’s almost impossible to imagine a successful, compliant insurance business without technology at its core. But how exactly is technology reshaping the insurance landscape? And what does it mean for the future of actuarial work, AI, and cyber risk?
Posted on Tuesday Jan 21

Football Governance Code overhaul are we game

English football is on the brink of a governance overhaul with the Football Governance Bill 2024. We look at what clubs and leagues need to be prepared for. Introduced to Parliament on 13 November 2024, the bill represents a bold attempt to address the long-standing challenges of financial mismanagement, governance failures, and the need for stronger fan representation in the game. This latest iteration aims to establish an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) to oversee financial sustainability, governance standards, and fan engagement across the top five tiers of English men’s football.
Posted on Friday Jan 17

LCPs new Scheme Stewardship platform

The Pension Playpen forum on LCPs new Scheme Stewardship platform
Posted on Thursday Jan 16