Augment Risk launches Parametric division led by Kurt Cripps

Risk capital and reinsurance solutions broker Augment Risk has announced the launch of a Parametric risk transfer division which will be led by former Inver Re and Aon weather and parametrics specialist Kurt Cripps.

The Global Parametric Specialty division will bring “a new option to clients in the wake of challenging property cat reinsurance market conditions,” Augment Risk explained.

Kurt Cripps has joined Augment Risk to lead the new parametric division, which will focus on delivering client tailored parametric reinsurance products designed as “surgical approach to managing CAT exposures” the company explained.

Cripps was most recently Global Head of Parametric at Inver Re, the reinsurance arm of the Ardonagh Group, for a short time.

Prior to that, Kripps was a Managing Director and the Global Head of Weather at Aon Reinsurance Solutions, having joined Aon Benfield in 2009. His career began as a broker at HSBC Reinsurance Brokers.

Augment said that the Global Parametric Specialty division is “dedicated to promoting and implementing tailored index-based risk transfer solutions to clients across the globe.”

Cripps will be tasked with championing the “normalizing of index-based products within the reinsurance market” to create client enterprise value.

The initial focus on parametric risk transfer at Augment Risk will be on assisting captives, insurance, reinsurance and ILS firms to manage their global exposures to natural perils (Windstorm, Earthquake & Wildfire).

But the ambition is to “significantly impact the proportion of catastrophe premium currently in the market by moving to index-based solutions and complementing a clients current buying dynamic.”

“I’m excited to be joining such a progressive organization as Augment Risk, especially at a time when the reinsurance industry is undergoing this profound change. We want to focus on the benefit that a parametric product can bring to our clients; a highly efficient claims recovery process, improving opportunity costs and a much greater transparency around reinsurance efficiency. Add to this the very real threat associated with climate change, and the need for finding new and more effective solutions has never been more acute,” Cripps explained.

“Fundamentally with reinsurance costs rising, higher deductibles, reduced limits, and self-insured retention increasing, clients are having to manage a far greater degree of risk. Parametric coverage has never been a more viable and affordable alternative, whilst also providing clients the comfort that risks are managed in the most efficient and cost effective way. The traditional way of managing risk isn’t as available or sustainable anymore, so now is the time to do something different.”

“By improving reinsurance purchasing efficiency in this way, we can remove threats associated with loss creep, secondary perils, extensive settlement periods, fraud and in worst case scenarios, arbitration/litigation so often seen in the traditional market. This creates huge security and value to a client’s risk management strategy by giving them back the value of time and most importantly their capital.”