Aon launches Asia Pacific capital advisory unit under Seewon Oh

Re/insurance broker Aon has launched an Asia Pacific capital advisory unit within Reinsurance Solutions to help property & casualty and life & health clients manage their capital efficiency in the challenging market dynamics.

The initiative follows Aon’s launch of similar capital advisory units in the UK and US, which aims to deliver "holistic approach" to capital optimisation for re/insurers.

The new Asia Pacific unit will be led by Seewon Oh, who will work alongside Aon’s existing global rating agency and capital advisory teams, reporting to Rupert Moore, CEO of Japan for Reinsurance Solutions.

Oh was most recently an analyst for Smartkarma Innovations researching the insurance sector across Asia Pacific. Previously, she was an equity analyst at banking group HSBC covering insurance, and a credit analyst at AM Best Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

In her new role, Oh will focus primarily on rating agency advisory work, while broadening into other areas of client engagement.

Moore said: “In the current environment, many Asia Pacific re/insurers are experiencing low growth, low underwriting margins and low investment income, while facing higher capital requirements due to regulatory and rating agency obligations.

"The goal of Capital Advisory is to help clients achieve capital efficiency either by accessing alternative or traditional capital, or through identifying opportunities that make better use of existing capital, while taking into account cost and returns. This in turn helps them to generate better returns on common equity.”