He will join the firm after completing his current notice period and will be responsible for developing its presence in the international energy insurance market.

Hilliard moves from Amwins Global Risks, bringing more than 16 years of experience in specialty insurance and reinsurance. His background includes significant work in third-party liability risks, particularly within North America. At Consilium, he will concentrate on energy liability lines and support clients with structured risk transfer and placement strategies across the sector.

During his career, Hilliard has managed complex placements and advised on risks influenced by geopolitical, environmental and commercial factors affecting energy businesses globally. He previously held senior roles at Cogent International and Roberts Armytage & Partners before joining Amwins as Divisional Director for Energy, where he led and developed a specialist team.

The Energy Risk Solutions Division represents Consilium’s second new business line this year, following the recent launch of its International Casualty Division. The addition forms part of a wider plan to expand the firm’s capabilities within the energy space.

Peter Coleman, CEO of Consilium, commented: “We’re delighted to launch our Energy Division and to welcome Johnny on board. Energy represents a significant global opportunity and forms a key pillar of our ambitious growth strategy. Our unique synergy model and high-performance culture at Consilium continues to attract the industry’s top talent who value independence, collaboration and entrepreneurial thinking.

“We are fiercely independent, relentlessly client focused and committed to delivering service excellence. Supported by sustained technology investment, our teams can spend more time delivering thoughtful solutions and less time navigating inefficiency. The new Energy division has exciting plans for the coming years and will be working cross-class to maximise the collaborative advantages of being part of a USD 1bn global reinsurance broker.”

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The collaboration will explore embedding dedicated reinsurance capacity into Masdar’s global insurance programs.

This aims to enhance insurance outcomes and support scalable and sustainable growth by improving coverage and capital efficiency, while bringing better pricing across its rapidly expanding portfolio.

Additionally, the two entities will assess opportunities to collaborate across the full insurance value chain, including risk engineering, primary underwriting, and claims support to ensure clean energy projects are protected from construction through operation.

The MoU sets a three-year framework for ongoing dialogue and implementation, advancing Abu Dhabi’s strategy to position itself as a global centre for climate finance and AI-enabled risk management.

Mark Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, RIQ, commented, “Masdar is a global leader in renewable energy, and this partnership reflects our shared belief that the future of infrastructure must be both resilient and intelligent.

“At RIQ, we’re building the digital architecture of tomorrow’s insurance economy, one that supports clean energy investment with smarter capital and sharper risk insight.”

Mazin Khan, Chief Financial Officer, Masdar, added, “As Masdar continues to expand its global clean energy footprint, we recognise the need for innovative financial and risk solutions that match the scale and complexity of our investments.

“By partnering with RIQ, we are aiming to embed resilience and intelligence throughout our operations, enabling us to better safeguard our assets and improve capital efficiency.

“We look forward to working closely with RIQ to develop the advanced risk solutions that will support our efforts to reach our target of 100GW of portfolio capacity by 2030.”

RIQ, which is supported by over $1 billion in equity commitments from IHC and strategic partners like BlackRock and Lunate, aims to become a global reinsurance leader, anchored in AI-native capabilities.

The firm is targeting $10 billion in annual underwriting across complex, emerging risk classes. In this partnership, RIQ will bring institutional capital with data-driven underwriting to deliver comprehensive reinsurance solutions focused on climate-aligned infrastructure and emerging risk classes.

This collaboration builds on an earlier commitment between RIQ and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a diversified energy and petrochemicals group wholly owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, to collaborate on a long-term reinsurance strategy targeting $500 million in risk transfer over the next decade.

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This new facility will offer capacity of up to $50 million per declaration, which will prove particularly beneficial for businesses that may not be able to meet the minimum premium requirements of the London and Lloyd’s markets, explains the broker.

The new facility covers all energy sectors including upstream, midstream, downstream, power generation and renewable energy for any country in Central and South America, and provides a market-first option for clients and brokers across the region.

Although the product primarily targets SMEs, it can also consider larger programmes if required.

MNK Re says that it identified a lack of competitive capacity from the international reinsurance market for energy-related risks stemming from Latin America.

Manoj Kumar, Group Chairman, commented, “As MNK Re continues to grow, Latin America is a key focus for us in 2025, with our new facility providing an appealing alternative from the international market. In the long run, we will look to expand the facility further including the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and US markets.”

Adam Bragg, Managing Director for International Property, Construction and Engineering at MNK Re, added, “MNK Re has had a long-standing relationship with Latin American clients and we receive frequent enquiries from businesses based there that do not meet the minimum premiums of the Lloyd’s market. Our new facility gives both greater flexibility, given the size of risk and classes of business it can cover and competitive pricing, making it an attractive offer for companies across Latin America.”

Ricardo Retana, Chief Executive Officer, MNK Re Latin America & Caribbean, said, “Our facility will provide clients with comprehensive coverage across all aspects of energy. We will be meeting clients face to face across Latin America, ensuring that we provide a bespoke and long-lasting solution for smaller businesses looking to mitigate their risk.”

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In this role, Ritson will focus on expanding MNK Re’s energy portfolio, leading efforts to develop and secure more business for the firm’s energy team.

Manoj Kumar, CEO of MNK Group, expressed enthusiasm for Ritson’s appointment, stating, “Mark brings significant experience of the international energy insurance market, as well as an extensive network that stretches across the world. Huge transformations are coming to the energy market in the coming decades, and appointing Mark means that we are in a strong position to help our clients navigate that.”

Ritson has over 30 years of experience in energy insurance broking, working across upstream and downstream energy, power generation, and renewable projects worldwide.

For the past 15 years, he has worked at United Insurance Brokers Limited, where he served as Executive Director of the Non-Marine Division and Divisional Director of Property – Non-Marine & Energy.

Previously, Ritson was a Senior Broker at Amwins and Director, Head of International Property and Energy at AFL Insurance Brokers Ltd.

Commenting on his new role, Ritson said, “I’m delighted to join MNK Re at a time when it is growing strongly and has ambitious plans for its energy business. It’s clear that there are huge opportunities in the sector, and I’m looking forward to working with the rest of the team to increase the number of clients we support with our unique, specialist products.

“MNK Re’s big advantage is its connections to underwriters based all over the world, and its ability to source capacity from both traditional and alternative markets. Providing clients with choice and meaningful flexibility will be key to our continued growth, and I look forward to enhancing our offer to clients further.”

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The company assists the energy sector to mitigate their unique risks against potential catastrophic losses like weather, rehabilitation and other complex issues.

It does this by tailoring Alternative Risk Financing Models and creates insurance capacity via funded First Party Contingency or Captive arrangements with global reinsurance capacity/support.

As capacity from traditional insurance can be restrictive and expensive to acquire, Yard Insurance believes it can manage the unique risks faced by the energy sector by providing and structuring Alternate Risk Financing Models and create insurance capacity via funded Contingency or Captive arrangements and global reinsurance capacity.

Thus, the insurer claims it can create capacity on day 1, and facilitating a financial mechanism that will respond in the event of catastrophic losses.

This insurance fund, it explained, will grow year-on-year, greater capacity going forward, and additional income streams for energy operation.

Head of Business Development, Andrew Stockton, said: “A lot of clients are looking for alternate risk solutions for their risks and are no longer happy with conventional insurance. Especially the larger type clients who spend over R5 million p.a. on their insurance portfolios.

“A lot of IPP’s are looking for Alternate Risk Transfer solutions that Yard Insurance can structure – Tailor made to their unique needs and risk profile via our reinsurance solutions.”

Farad Kajee, Yard Insurance CEO, stated: “We create innovative, bespoke solutions and provide the attention to detail that current large organisations or large corporates do not provide. Ideas make the difference.

“Yard is somebody that is open to every single new idea that is out there. We don’t discriminate. Whether it is an upstart, policy number one, or whether it is a portfolio that is established for the last 20 years.”

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Earlier in the year, insurers were bracing themselves for the aftermath of challenging treaty renewals, anticipating increased reinsurance costs that would inevitably be passed on to direct clients.

The market sentiment was dominated by discussions of the severity of conditions and the financial implications for insurers.

As the first quarter progressed, a divergence in reactions among different markets became apparent.

Insurers with multi-class reinsurance programs covering downstream and upstream operations, and those with whole account programs, including aviation, found themselves particularly affected.

The geopolitical uncertainties stemming from the Ukraine crisis added complexity, especially in the aviation sector due to political violence losses.

However, insurers with energy-specific treaties experienced a more lenient impact, except in the case of Gulf of Mexico Windstorm coverage, which emerged as the hardest-hit area during the 1st January treaty renewals. The increased costs were passed on to direct clients in this segment.

Despite concerns about the potential severity of reinsurance cost increases, the overall impact on treaty renewals was not as dire as initially anticipated. Many insurers, however, had to accept significantly higher retentions, impacting their financial landscapes.

Due to the timing of these renewals, accounts quoted and placed before finalising treaties missed out on potential adjustments based on the increased costs.

It is anticipated that the full market reaction to the 2023 renewals will only become apparent at the end of 2023, once underwriters assess their full-year numbers, including the impact of heightened retention levels. This may lead to a shift in rating conditions come 2024.

As discussions for the 2024 treaty renewals commence, it is expected that upstream energy portfolios will not be treated differentially.

Reinsurers may believe that concerns regarding the upstream portfolio have been adequately addressed through the adjustments in retention levels made during the previous year.

In terms of facultative reinsurance, which was initially seen as a potential solution to offset increased retention levels, the market has not seen the anticipated uptick.

The cost uplift in premiums resulting from increased reinsurance has not been passed on to direct clients, making it challenging for insurers to generate funds for facultative reinsurance.

Appetite for purchasing facultative reinsurance has, in fact, slowed down, with more deals being struck in the renewables sector, which is experiencing significant growth.

The unexpected developments in the energy reinsurance market highlight the complexity and fluidity of the industry, paving the way for potential shifts in strategies and market dynamics in the coming months.

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Horace will focus exclusively on onshore and offshore energy insurance worldwide outside the US, with a focus on clients transitioning to a net zero environment, initially writing on behalf of Syndicates 4242/1416 and other participants.

It will be led by Chris Charlton as CEO, who most recently held the position of Chief Underwriting Officer and Head of London at Barents Re, having originally joined the business as Head of Energy in 2013.

Prior to his tenure at Barents Re, Charlton held a number of senior positions including Head of Offshore Energy at Swiss Re and at Hiscox.

“I am excited to partner with Beat to establish this new energy underwriting business,” said Charlton.

“At a time of unprecedented change for the energy sector, we believe our business partners will benefit from experienced teams who are dedicated to finding solutions for clients. We look forward to building on these relationships in the future.”

John Cavanagh, Chairman of Beat, also commented: “Beat is in the business of supporting entrepreneurs of proven talent and Chris, with an outstanding track record of over 25 years, exemplifies what we look for. The combination of his impressive background, market reputation and expertise make us excited about the prospects for Horace.”

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For attachments of typically USD 500 million and above, the newly launched Pixel Re will offer facultative reinsurance for large multinational risks on an excess-of-loss basis, effective immediately.

Pixel Re has exclusive Lloyd’s and London-market sourced capacity and has been launched to meet the growing demand for high quality capacity for larger line sizes as a result of inflationary pressures on insureds’ assets.

So, it doesn’t seem that Pixel Re is bringing USD 500 million+ of new capacity to market, but rather it is on risks that attach at USD 500 million or higher.

Jamil Elbahou, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO), Connect Underwriting, said: “We are excited to announce the addition of Pixel Re, which provides new capacity for property and downstream energy risks. This is available immediately to select distribution partners that have a regular requirement for these attachment levels globally.

“Pixel Re is very much part of our commitment to leverage our expertise to bring more to the market and to fulfil the need for additional high-quality capacity in what is fast becoming an underserved area of the market.”

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RPS notes that the decision was made due to many factors, though one thing that’s clear is that OPEC+ is looking to prop up oil prices around $90 a barrel, and is reluctant to let prices drop further than that, no matter the economic headwinds.

RPS writes, “It’s important to note that we aren’t going to actually see 2 million barrels coming offline; the real number is actually around 890,000 barrels. This difference is because the OPEC+ countries commit to a certain level of output, and since the pandemic, many of the countries haven’t been able to meet their assigned allocation of that output.

“In fact, the group as a whole has been short by almost 3.6 million BPD. Many members of OPEC+ feel the current price of oil isn’t accurately reflecting how tight oil supplies are and this cut was meant to wake the world up to that fact.

“To be fair, OPEC+ isn’t wrong. Looking into 2023, many factors will continue to weigh on prices. Russia is a member of OPEC+, and currently, they are pumping right under 10 million BPD, but there are concerns about them maintaining this output.

“Many of their shale fields are very complicated and have required expertise from Western companies who are now pulling out of the country due to the conflict with Ukraine. We know shale wells have shorter lives and need to be replaced quickly, so development will be interesting to monitor. It will also be interesting to watch to see what potential actions U.S. and European leaders take.”

As for the impact, RPS states that the energy insurance marketplace is continuing to provide competitive solutions for insureds. It notes that it saw appetite changes from carriers in late 2021 and early 2022, and for the most part the space has adjusted and found some consistency.

The firm also observes that it continues to see carriers leverage lead umbrellas to win deals. It adds that carriers are getting more comfortable with increasing their limits to stay on accounts, with multiple carriers have deployed up to $20 million in limits.

RPS says that this trend indicates that they’ve been able to negotiate and find capacity in the reinsurance space to help support these activities.

Further, the firm suggests it is seeing carriers leverage the Workers’ Compensation line of coverage, as this line of business has been consistently profitable, and carriers are increasingly putting pressure on agents to bundle this line in order to quote the umbrellas.

Meanwhile, RPS notes that underwriters are continuing to diligently underwrite the Auto Liability and Hired and Non-Owned Auto lines of business if they’re sitting excess of a fleet. It adds that it is seeing more requests for Auto Liability supplementals to be completed, in addition to the General Liability supplementals.

RPS concludes, “We’ve continued to monitor insurance companies being pressured to pull out of the oil and gas space. Munich Re announced on October 6 that it will refuse to insure any contract or project exclusively covering the financing, planning, construction or operation of oil and gas fields, midstream infrastructure or oil-fired power plants, beginning in April 2023.

“Munich Re is one of the largest reinsurance companies, so it will be interesting to monitor the effects of this decision as time goes on and to see if other companies will join them.”

As RPS waits to see the full effects of OPEC+’s decision on the U.S. energy industry and in turn, the energy insurance marketplace, it writes it is keeping its eye on finding competitive solutions to help agents and insureds navigate the uncertainty.

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A number of factors have contributed to this new “apprehensive equilibrium”, says WTW, including the Ukraine crisis, global inflation, a renewed focus on ESG, and the deterioration of the 2022 loss record, particularly for Midstream and Downstream business.

The report states that traditionally, a period of significant market hardening is rapidly followed by an increased appetite for business at the new, higher rates, in turn ushering in the next phase of the market cycle, an equally rapid market softening as market imperatives switch from technical rating adequacy to meeting increased premium income targets.

Though now instead, “We are left with the remnants of a hard market – a tapering off of the hardening dynamic but no sign yet of the softening that many by now had anticipated,” WTW notes.

The rise of global inflation doesn’t only hit the business or its clients, says WTW, it also has the potential to impact the insurance market.

The firm observes that it is difficult to fully assess the impact of higher inflation on claims at this stage, as the higher inflation environment has not been present for long enough to accurately measure this.

Though it adds, “logic suggests that this will inevitably feed through to higher claims costs in the long term. The concern is therefore being felt by many insurers, who are also looking more closely at property declared values. This includes business interruption, the impact of more volatile Energy markets and whether the positive impact of inflation on buyers’ profits is being fully reflected in the values declared to the insurance market.”

“Our message to the energy industry on this topic is therefore really quite simple: it is vital that a more transparent understanding of how insured values are calculated is communicated from buyer to broker to insurer.”

When this is achieved, buyers will see greater price stability, says WTW, which will in turn reduce the likelihood of large swings experienced between hard and soft market conditions.

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