Kalista targets growth via ILS innovation
Kalista Global, a Bermuda-based re/insurance company specialising in the origination, structuring and execution of ILS deals, has launched several new products in recent months in a strategy that values innovation over market share in this market.
It has launched a cat bond issuance platform, a parametric cat reinsurance product, an El Nino parametric cover and a suite of crop industry loss warranties in recent months as it builds out its capabilities in the ILS space.
Spencer Conway, its chief executive, said the recent launches had been well-received by the market. “With these new products we don’t compete for market share, rather we see niches and create relevant products that offer real innovation to the market,” he said.
Conway said that there is significant interest in the ILS space, with levels of capital entering the market helping to drive innovation. Kalista is looking to extend accessible and affordable products to the market, Conway said, satisfying demand among those companies that have baulked at the cost and complexity of traditional cat bonds and ILS.
Conway said that Kalista has five additional new products in development which it plans to roll out in 2013 and 2014 in order to satisfy rising demand for innovation in the ILS space.
Addressing Bermuda’s central role in the ILS space, Conway likened starting up an ILS company on the island to establishing a tech company in Silicon Valley. “In ILS, Bermuda is the place to be. Period,” he said.
