New reinsurer led by industry veteran enters market with heavyweight backing

A new player has entered the reinsurance field of business with the backing of industry heavyweights including MassMutual and Hudson Structured Capital Management (HSCM Bermuda).

Martello Re has launched as a licensed Class E Bermuda-based life and annuity reinsurance company with initial equity of $1.65 billion provided by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Centerbridge Partners, Brown Brothers Harriman, and a pre-eminent group of institutional investors and family offices, including HSCM Bermuda.

Martello Re is led by Dennis Ho (pictured) as chief executive officer (CEO) - a 22-year industry veteran and life actuary who most recently founded Saturday Insurance, an online insurtech platform. Prior to that, Ho held a range of other leadership roles including CEO for Longitude Re, managing director at BlackRock Solutions, and head of US life insurance solutions at Deutsche Bank.

Ho believes it is an "ideal time" to build a new life reinsurer given the growing consumer demand for retirement products and challenging market environment for insurers. "Through Martello Re, we've combined the DNA and core values of MassMutual with the agility of a start-up to create a premier reinsurer that will provide the industry with access to a unique combination of product expertise, capital, and investment capabilities that is not currently available today," said Ho.

Initially, the new reinsurer will focus on providing MassMutual and its subsidiaries with reinsurance capacity on current product offerings, after which it will offer its services selectively to leading insurers in the life and annuity space.

Barings and Centerbridge will act as asset managers for the new company, managing investment portfolio and providing access to public and private asset origination and underwriting capabilities across all asset classes.

Martello Re aims to offer a "differentiated value proposition" to its counterparties.

The company will be overseen by a board of directors made up of investors and Martello Re's CEO Ho. The initial members will include chairwoman Ellen Conlin from MassMutual and Michael Baumstein of Barings, Matthew Kabaker and Eric Hoffman from Centerbridge, Jeff Meskin and Taylor Bodman from Brown Brothers Harriman, and Ho.

"The launch of Martello Re represents a unique and strategic opportunity for MassMutual that supports our future growth," said Roger Crandall, chairman, president and CEO of MassMutual. "By coming together with established, world-class partners to build a leading reinsurer, we will be able to more efficiently manage risk and deliver on our long-term commitments while providing ongoing value to our policyowners and customers."

Mike Freno, Barings chairman and CEO, said: "Today's announcement underscores Barings' deep expertise in alternative asset management and insurance. We are proud to be teaming with leading firms like MassMutual, Centerbridge Partners and Brown Brothers Harriman to create and support an innovative new player in the reinsurance field."

Centerbridge's co-founder and managing principal Jeff Aronson, added: "The creation of Martello Re is ground-breaking for the reinsurance sector. We've had a longstanding relationship with MassMutual, Barings, and Brown Brothers Harriman and we couldn't be more grateful for their support in including us in this innovative partnership. We also appreciate the support from our clients who participated in the capital raise for Martello Re. We look forward to serving them and Martello Re in helping to create a full-spectrum, industry leading asset management solution for fixed income and private credit."

Jeff Meskin, Brown Brothers Harriman partner and head of BBH Private Banking, commented: "We have enjoyed long-standing relationships with Barings, MassMutual, and Centerbridge. Joining together with these firms to create Martello Re for the benefit of our wealth management clients will be an exciting journey. My partner, Taylor Bodman, and I look forward to joining the Board of Directors and to working with the Martello Re team and our partners to grow this unique reinsurance platform."

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.