Category: Insurtech · Reviewed by Chrissie Anderson, Client Executive · Last reviewed 2026-06-10
A risk transfer platform is institutional infrastructure that supports the placement, pricing and (in some cases) ongoing trading of reinsurance and insurance-linked securities between professional counterparties — insurers, reinsurers, capital markets participants and brokers. The platform sits behind the visible cedant-reinsurer relationship and standardises how risk descriptions, terms and capital are matched.
Category: Insurtech Also known as: reinsurance marketplace platform, institutional risk transfer platform Established / Coined: electronic placing of reinsurance from circa 2000; named “risk transfer platforms” from circa 2018 Related concepts: Insurance marketplace, MGA platform, Lloyd’s of London, Parametric insurance
Risk transfer platforms differ from retail or commercial insurance marketplaces in three respects. First, the buyer is a professional counterparty (an insurer ceding risk, a sponsor of an insurance-linked security, a corporate using a captive). Second, the structures traded include excess-of-loss treaties, quota share, retrocession, industry loss warranties, catastrophe bonds and parametric swaps. Third, the platform typically operates under FSMA Part 4A permissions consistent with its activity (arranging deals in investments, dealing as principal/agent, operating a multilateral trading facility or organised trading facility where it crosses into MiFID territory).
Examples include Akinova (now Tremor) for risk pricing auctions and reinsurance placements, Tremor for reinsurance and cyber risk transfer, ICE’s catastrophe bond services, and the wider electronic placing infrastructure of Lloyd’s (PPL, Velonetic). Some captive-management and reinsurance-management platforms (Strategic Risk Solutions, Marsh’s Captive Solutions, Aon Captive & Insurance Management) include institutional risk-transfer features but are not solely platforms.
The regulatory perimeter depends on what the platform does. Where the platform merely facilitates direct insurance reinsurance contracts between authorised counterparties without taking principal positions, it generally arranges deals in investments under FSMA 2000 (the Regulated Activities Order article 25) and requires FCA Part 4A permission. Where it deals in catastrophe bonds or insurance-linked securities, MiFID-style permissions apply (dealing as principal/agent, operating a multilateral trading facility), under the FCA’s MAR and SYSC rules. PRA authorisation applies only where the platform itself underwrites contracts of insurance under FSMA 2000 section 19.
PRA Supervisory Statement SS5/16 (June 2016, updated) on the management and use of internal models is relevant where insurers using the platform incorporate ceded reinsurance recoveries into their internal models for capital purposes; the use test requires that ceded reinsurance is properly reflected. The PRA’s Insurance-Linked Securities (Risk Transformation) Regulations 2017 set out the UK ILS regime, with PRA authorisation of insurance special purpose vehicles (ISPVs) and the protected cell company structure used to issue ILS notes.
International standards include IAIS Insurance Core Principles on reinsurance (ICP 13) and on capital markets transactions. EIOPA has issued opinions on the use of reinsurance for solvency mitigation. Operational resilience (PRA SS1/21 / PS6/21, FCA PS21/3), market conduct and counter-fraud rules apply where relevant. AI used for matching, pricing or auction design is subject to FCA / BoE DP5/22 (October 2022) and FS2/23.
Cedants describe their portfolio and submission terms in a structured format (often based on the ACORD Reinsurance Bureau standards or proprietary schemas). The platform broadcasts the submission to a pool of authorised counterparties, who price either via traditional indications (named lines) or via auction-style mechanisms that aggregate price-quantity bids and clear a single market price. Once placed, the platform produces a contract record consistent with the Lloyd’s Market Reform Contract (where applicable) or the equivalent reinsurance broker slip, and feeds settlement and accounting to the parties’ systems.
For ILS, the platform may support sponsor onboarding, structuring, investor onboarding and post-issue secondary trading. Catastrophe bond marketplaces typically integrate with PCS or Verisk for industry loss reporting and with risk modelling platforms (RMS, Moody’s RMS, Verisk AIR) for transparency. Parametric structures use index data providers (Swiss Re, Munich Re indices, JBA, ICEYE for satellite-derived data).
Variations include broker-led platforms (operated by Aon, WTW, Guy Carpenter), counterparty-led platforms (Tremor’s auctions), exchange-style platforms (limited adoption), and consortium platforms operated jointly by ILS funds. The Lloyd’s market’s Blueprint Two delivery extends placing and accounting digitalisation to traditional reinsurance lines.
A United Kingdom property insurer prepares its January reinsurance renewal on a risk transfer platform. The platform’s auction module accepts the cedant’s exposure data and reinsurance structure (an aggregate excess-of-loss with attachment at £150 million and cover up to £300 million) and broadcasts the submission to ten approved reinsurance counterparties. Each submits a price-quantity bid; the platform clears at the price that fills the requested capacity, produces a placement record, and feeds the cession to the cedant’s PAS and capital model. PRA SS5/16 use-test expectations are satisfied via the cedant’s documented incorporation of ceded recoveries into its internal model.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-10. Next review: 2026-12-10.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
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