Howden Tiger announces new leadership and expertise for market-leading Legacy division
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Howden Tiger, the reinsurance arm of international (re)insurance broker Howden Broking Group, announces today that Seth Ruff, Head of Structured Reinsurance, has assumed the additional role of Head of Legacy. Furthermore, the Legacy and Investment Banking divisions have come under common management, reporting to Jarad Madea, CEO, Howden Tiger Capital Markets & Advisory (“HTCMA”).
This new, seamless structure allows Howden Tiger to offer cross-discipline solutions and a range of options for clients, such as the sale of a legal entity versus the purchase of a reserve cover, representing a significant step in Howden Tiger’s strategy to align its expertise and experience.
This follows the appointment in October 2022 of Ken Kruger, a 30-year industry veteran and former head of Munich Re Capital Partners, as a senior broker specializing in legacy and structured reinsurance. Additionally, the combination of TigerRisk and Howden has created a more significant Legacy operation in London that includes Kevin Soopen, Vijay Mavani and David Watson, all of whom have deep experience in capital solutions including Funds at Lloyd’s (Lloyd’s FAL) and Legacy transactions.
Rob Bredahl, CEO, Howden Tiger, said: “This is a simple case of ‘more powerful together.’ This combination allows us to bring even more horsepower to our clients at the intersection of capital and risk.”
Jarad Madea, CEO, HTCMA, commented: “The Legacy and Investment Banking teams have a long history of collaboration, with more than 25 recent projects where together we explored a range of solutions from M&A to capital raising and sidecar formation to legacy reinsurance solutions. These projects revealed the powerful, complementary nature of our combined team.”
Seth Ruff, Head of Legacy and Structured Reinsurance, added: “It has been clear for some time that the teams operate in the same marketplace, but with different tools. Together we will deliver a seamless offering across the full spectrum of capital solutions.”
Howden Tiger’s Legacy division consists of a team of experienced brokers and actuaries in the US and London who advise clients in the design and execution of Loss Portfolio Transfers, Adverse Development Covers, Reinsurance to Close (RITC), Part VII transfers and other Insurance Business Transfer transactions. The combined Legacy and HTCMA teams now comprise over thirty professionals across offices in New York, London, and Minneapolis.
The market for legacy transactions is robust, with buyers seeking to release capital for higher-return purposes, hedge against reserve risk, or exit discontinued segments of their business. Worldwide loss reserves have increased by $170bn since 2019 fuelling the demand for coverage. On the supply side, more than a dozen reinsurers are active in the market, and their investors continue to bring fresh capital to the space. More than $7.4bn of new capital has entered the legacy market since 2019.
The recent completion of the Howden Tiger transaction on 9 January 2023 cements the firm’s position as a top tier global reinsurance broker, representing almost $400 million of combined reinsurance revenue, and serving as a strategic advisor for clients through its core specialisms of Facultative, MGA, Specialty, Treaty, Capital Markets and Analytics.