^aFortis, Rue Royale 20, Brussels BE-1000, Belgium

Correspondence: Jozef De Mey, E-mails: jozef.demey@fortis.com, frank.dausy@fortis.com

Presented at the General Assembly of the Geneva Association, 19th May 2006

Abstract

Disintermediation with respect to the transfer of insurance risk is still very much a market in development, unlike in banking where risk transfer to the capital markets through securitization has become a widely used financial technique. Reinsurance will continue to play a dominant role, but gradually we see how innovative securitization instruments are brought to the market, in non-life and in life. The main issues to overcome to make securitization a more widely used financial technique are the lack of transparency and consistency in modelling insurance risks. Enhanced standardization and liquidity will be crucial for the success of insurance risk securitization.