I started working in the London reinsurance market in 1978. Forty years’ later, after a journey through various roles to running my own business today, I’ve seen many insurers and reinsurers come and go, leaving behind a “fatberg” of administrative costs and legacy losses.

From the shift toward the use of ratings in the 1990s and increasing regulation, the reinsurance market is probably more robust than it’s ever been. It has, however, concerned me that many reinsurers really only pay lip service to the financial health of their cedents. Perhaps they will ask for a copy of the accounts, although all too often they then just file them away, sometimes without even looking at them.