Rating Analyst (ILS/Structured Finance)

Overview

As an analyst, you will be responsible for credit rating analysis on a portfolio of (re)insurers and will support rating activities associated with specialist insurers, structured finance and other entities/products related to the convergence of capital markets and (re)insurance.

The London analytical team works closely with AM Best's offices in the US, Europe and Asia and comprises of a team of approximately 20 analytical staff, within which there is a broad array of expertise. The team is responsible for AM Best's ratings in the London, European (ex-EU27), Bermudian, Middle Eastern, African, and Central Asian markets.

Responsibilities

• Produce timely and high-quality credit assessments on a portfolio of (re)insurers, as well as producing accurate and informative documentation to support the credit decision
• Support the credit rating activities for securities and insurance companies rated by the ILS Group while ensuring that AM Best's quality, timeliness and compliance standards are consistently met or exceeded
• Contribute creative solutions to analytical challenges faced by the ILS Group with bespoke transactions in accordance with ratings criteria and methodologies
• Engage in regular interaction with senior management of (re)insurers and requirement to attend company meetings, with support from more senior colleagues, to obtain relevant information to support the credit rating assessment
• Conduct on-going surveillance of assigned portfolios and develop industry knowledge, including the identification of key trends and issues that may affect the assigned portfolio of (re)insurers
• Present analysis at rating committee, participate in rating committees of other analysts, and contribute to internal discussions regarding the state of the (re)insurance markets and rating issues
• Contribute to external presentations, seminars and the writing and research of external specialist reports commenting on key market issues and trends. Additionally, the candidate will be expected to develop a network of contacts in the (re)insurance market (including clients, brokers and other stakeholders) for the purpose of developing market intelligence
• Promote AM Best's expansion and development into structured finance

Skills

• Developed knowledge of (re)insurance within the wider financial service industry
• One or more years' experience in insurance linked securities (ILS), structured finance, capital markets with a focus on the insurance industry
• Strong understanding of financial concepts, analytics, statistics and actuarial science.
• Advanced knowledge of Matlab, MS Excel, R, Python, SQL, with modelling concepts such as Monte-Carlo simulation
• Experience working as an actuary, catastrophe modelling, CAT bonds etc
• Financial analysis skills, ideally within the insurance industry, financial services sector, or a financial services consultancy firm
• Bachelor's degree is a minimum entry requirement
• Additional relevant professional qualifications are an advantage (MSc, MBA, CFA, ACA/ACCA, Actuarial, etc.)

Note: Occasional international travelling will be required for this role.