CatX, the digital catastrophe and parametric risk exchange company, has merged with fellow Bermuda-based risk software company Cactus and launched the Cactus Risk Studio to enable clients to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to power risk decisions and risk transfer.
The pair claim that their merging will create the largest insurance software company operating from Bermuda.
The new product launch that comes from their merging, Cactus Risk Studio, will provide brokers, insurers, risk managers, and investors with a single integrated platform to analyse and transact risk, powered by AI, the pair state.
Cactus Risk Studio will facilitate risk analysis, coverage structuring, terms agreement and placement, as well as providing the ability to track results.
Cactus already provides a digital workspace that is used by underwriting and broking teams and supports underwriting of more than $500 million of gross written premium annually, by companies such as Ark, Amwins, Helix, and First Specialty across Bermuda, the United States, and London markets.
CatX has its Catamaran platform that offers AI powered risk intelligence and workflow tools for natural catastrophe, property, and specialty insurance, as well as its Bermuda regulated digital exchange that helps risks be transferred between capital market investors and insurers.
CatX claims its platform can connect insurance and reinsurance market participants with capital from over 50 funds that together manage more than a trillion dollars of assets, including prop trading firms.
The company has also helped investors to access parametric risk sources in the past, so we assume that will continue to be a focus as well.
Benedict Altier, Chief Executive Officer of CatX, commented on the news, “The time to act is now. Our industry is in a transformative period where risks are more complex and claim costs are rising, and AI is ready to help in practical ways. We built advanced tools so institutional investors could understand specialty risks quickly, from natural catastrophe to space, and then put those tools in the hands of brokers and underwriters where the feedback has been outstanding.
“Together with Cactus we are bringing this capability into one workspace so teams can see the facts, test scenarios, agree terms, and complete placement. We believe we are delivering the most advanced AI in the industry, with a team that includes machine learning specialists from Oxford and Cambridge and engineers with experience at top investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Barclays.”
James Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of Cactus, added “Cactus already powers underwriting teams in Bermuda, the United States, and London. Combining Cactus with CatX’s AI and marketplace capabilities gives our clients a studio for risk that reflects how the market works. One place to originate, collaborate, price, document, and place risk with greater transparency and control. After two years working with CatX, I am excited to deepen the relationship.”
The merger transaction announced today was supported by leading counsel from Walkers in Bermuda and Barclay Damon in the US.
