This February, AIRROC and Mayer Brown were pleased to co-host their Seventh Annual Runoff Deal Market Forum (the “Deal Forum”) at Mayer Brown’s New York office, where industry experts came together to discuss the latest trends and developments in the insurance legacy market. The Deal Forum featured three panels that covered the State of the Market, Post-Closing Challenges and Regulatory Updates, as well as networking opportunities for attendees.
The Deal Forum kicked off with a panel on the State of the Market covering the broader financial and insurance markets as well as the property/casualty runoff market, chaired by Mayer Brown partner Vikram Sidhu. Benjamin Friedman (PJT Partners) started discussions by sharing his perspectives on the macroeconomics and financial markets. Rebecca Wilkinson from PwC then provided an overview of insurance run-off deal activity and trends in 2024, while previewing PwC’s newly released 2024 Year-End Review of Non-Life Insurance Run-off Deals (available here) (the “2024 Year-End Review”). In presenting the key findings from the 2024 Year-End Review, Rebecca noted that the legacy insurance market saw 33 publicly announced deals in 2024, which reflects a slight increase from 2023. Seth Ruff from Howden Re then shared his expectations and predictions for legacy deals in 2025. He noted that legacy market transactions are on track and expected to be consistent with 2024 deal activity. In terms of 2025 trends, one prediction from panelists was that repeat cedents will come back to the market to do more legacy transactions this year.
The second panel of the Deal Forum, “Beyond the Deal: Navigating Post-Closing Challenges in Legacy Transactions” focused on the post-closing challenges and issues that arise in legacy transactions, from both a buy-side and sell-side perspective. Mayer Brown associate Juliana Toes, who is also a member of the AIRROC NextGen Council, chaired the panel. Panelists included industry experts, Tony D’Angelis (Enstar), Justin Brendan (SiriusPoint), Chris Hampshire (Gallagher Basset) and Matt Kunish (the RiverStone Group). The panelists discussed some of the common challenges that legacy transactions face after closing, such as knowledge gaps, data integration, imperfect deal terms and claims handling. They also shared some tips and best practices for how parties can plan for and mitigation these post-closing challenges, such as conducting thorough due diligence, involving operational teams early on and establishing clear roles and responsibilities.
The day ended with a panel on regulatory topics presented by Mayer Brown partners, Kimberly Hamm, Michael Olsen and Yuliya Feldman. Kimberly Hamm shared updates and views on expectations for the Trump administration, before turning it over to Michael Olsen for an update on PFAS litigation. Yuliya Feldman wrapped up discussing by sharing some of the state insurance regulatory updates and developments that are of interest and significance for the runoff industry, such as notable updates with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) initiatives and model laws.
The Deal Forum was a successful and informative event that showcased the expertise and insights of the AIRROC and Mayer Brown speakers and moderators, as well as the engagement and participation of the attendees. For information on upcoming AIRROC events, visit: https://www.airrocupdate.org/category/airroc-events
