RiverStone at IRLA: 60 second interview with Stephen Roberts

Last week saw the return of the annual Insurance & Reinsurance Legacy Association (IRLA) congress in Brighton.

Riverstone has been a supporter of IRLA since its inception and has always provided both membership support as well as IRLA Board support from our own executive, recognising that a strong and successful legacy market, which operates to a high regulatory standard and with an eye to fair competition, helps create a positive dynamic and draws both opportunity and professionals, including intermediaries, to our sector.

Stephen Roberts is the current Chairman of IRLA having represented Riverstone on the Board for the last 5 years. We caught up with Stephen to gather his views on how it went.

How do you think the Legacy world reacted to the challenging last 18 months?

Legacy had stood up and enhanced its reputation in lockdown with many legacy acquirers completing deals and attracting capital to the market. Although there have been tremendous logistical challenges, as we have experienced ourselves, as the live markets have reviewed their recent performance and sought legacy solutions, we have been there to provide the support and expertise required 

How would you currently describe the state of the Legacy insurance market? 

The market is buoyant and looking forwards to the challenges ahead – capital has shown an interest in the sector and 2020 – 2021 was very positive for deal completion; at congress we learned that over $15 billion of new business will have come to legacy in the 24 months to December 21! 

Where do you see it going forwards? 

I believe the market will continue to grow as a mature aspect of the wider insurance cycle and with both Lloyd’s and composites recognising that the major acquirers, RiverStone amongst them, are sophisticated, secure, and operationally capable of providing both bespoke and “out of the box” solutions to their balance sheet and forwards underwriting requirements. 

What was the main highlight of the Congress?

The main highlight of congress was congress itself – for many, the first market / social event we have been able to attend since 2019!