Miami: back to a pre-COVID vibrancy

This year’s Miami Reinsurance Week has returned to pre-COVID levels in terms of and is vibrant with new ideas and capacity looking to operate in the market. That said, the market could be on the cusp of softening again as carriers compete for business. 

That is the view of Napoleon Montes-Amaya, head of Hiscox Miami. Speaking to Miami Reinsurance Week Today, he said his own unit has always been relatively sheltered from some of the highs and lows of the market – and is one of the few Lloyd’s syndicates to have remained in Miami through the lower points of the soft market (2017 on) and the fallout from the Lloyd’s Decile 10 initiative in 2018. 

Specialty lines anchor amid market shifts 

That is largely because all it offers is specialty lines. It offers four specialty lines of business to the LatAm region: kidnap and ransom; terrorism and political violence; product recall and fine arts. “We are one of the few syndicates that has kept the lights on through the whole cycle in Miami,” he said. “But we were protected because what we do is so niche.” With that foundation and longevity in place, he said Hiscox is now considering launching more lines of business in the region. 

On top that list could be an offering in the renewables space, an area of strong growth in Latin America. “Our mantra, part of our 2030 strategy, is to expand our horizons. That means both unlocking our own potential and stepping up to play our part in what is a changing world.” 

He stresses that Latin America does present challenges as a region to do business. The largest, especially in the context of its specialty products, is economic and political instability, which springs up in different countries at different times. “We always say that the region is never more than one election away from the next crisis,” he said. 

He said the other challenge is being able to develop products that are innovative and forward-looking in the region, due to some of the red tape and the way in which the fac reinsurance industry works. The larger presence of Lloyd’s in the region, with its hub launched in June 2024, could help ease some of this problem, he suggested. “Regulatory barriers to hinder innovation,” he said. But the discussions and networking at Miami Reinsurance Week can also help bring ideas to life. He also noted that he has seen more buyers of insurance at the event this year: corporates who have often travelled to Miami with their brokers. “That is nice to see. I also think we are in a very exciting point in the cycle,” he said. “I feel the market is going from strength to strength. All the events are vibrant; there is a lot going on. We are starting to see some signs of softening, more on rate than terms and conditions, but, overall, the market is in a very good place and there is a huge amount of interest in doing business in LatAm.”

For more news from Miami Reinsurance Week Today, click here.

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