Monte Carlo #68 - Cathal Carr: Stop Watching Rate Change

Two years ago Oak Global didn't exist. It now writes over $900m of income across two Lloyd's syndicates, posted an 84% combined ratio in its first year, and did it all in a reinsurance market that had already peaked. Cathal Carr, Founder & CEO, joins Ben at Monte Carlo RVS to explain why there's no perfect time to launch a reinsurer, only a proposition good enough to outlast the cycle.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

• Why rate adequacy, not rate change, is the number to watch as the reinsurance market softens
• How a start-up reinsurer keeps growing with discipline by weighing gross and net portfolio composition against return on capital
• How Oak Global matches capital to risk across a primary reinsurance syndicate and a retro syndicate
• Why Lloyd's hybrid capital model, talent density and flow of business make London the launchpad of choice
• Why AI in reinsurance has to be technology built for talent, because nothing replaces trust

TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro00:24 Year two at Monte Carlo and the $900m milestone01:29 600 clients and why RVS is for listening02:28 Launching after the peak: why Oak believes in cycles04:07 An 84% combined ratio and growing with discipline05:10 Two syndicates, one for primary reinsurance and one for retro05:46 Matching capital to risk with Bain Capital and Lloyd's Names06:19 Why Lloyd's has been pivotal for a new reinsurer07:24 London's talent density and the flow of global business08:23 Building a culture with no single dominant bias09:47 AI as technology built for talent11:14 Wrap-up

EPISODE LINKS:Cathal's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathal-carr-1850b724/

Oak Global: https://oakglobal.com/

CONNECT WITH US:Say Hello: producer@thereinsurancepodcast.comWebsite: https://www.supercede.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/supercedehqX: https://twitter.com/SupercedeHQYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SupercedeHQRSS Feed: https://anchor.fm/s/7e741c8c/podcast/rss