Willis Re, the international reinsurance broker, today announced the launch of its global life reinsurance practice following the recent appointment of Christian Howells as head of life reinsurance.

The new practice has been created to provide independent life reinsurance advisory and broking services globally to organisations including life insurers, reinsurers, and pension and annuity providers.

The launch reflects growing demand for sophisticated risk transfer, capital management and balance sheet optimisation solutions in an increasingly complex market environment.

The practice is a strategic collaboration with WTW’s Insurance Consulting and Technology business, which provides extensive analytical and consultancy resources, enabling it to deliver a broad range of services across mortality, morbidity, longevity and pension risk transfer solutions.

Its capabilities include traditional and structured reinsurance transactions, funded and capital-motivated reinsurance, portfolio structuring, in-force risk management, advanced analytics, pricing support and strategic risk transfer advice.

The practice will be led by Mr Howells, who recently joined Willis Re from Macquarie Asset Management, where he served as head of international insurance solutions. Prior to that, he spent more than 16 years at Schroders, holding several senior leadership positions serving global insurance clients and leading insurance solutions initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Howells said: “Life insurers are operating in a market defined by capital pressures, regulatory change, longevity risk and accelerating product innovation.

“The new life practice is designed to support clients beyond the transaction itself, bringing together market insight, analytical rigour and strategic advice to help clients capitalise on market opportunities and strengthen their overall business performance.”

Duncan Briggs, senior managing director in WTW’s insurance consulting and technology business, added: “What truly differentiates this new offering is the depth of actuarial expertise and analytical capability it brings to the market.

“By combining WTW’s insurance consulting and technology business’s advanced modelling, data-driven insights and transaction experience with Willis Re’s broking platform, we are creating a proposition that is genuinely unrivalled, enabling clients to take more informed decisions, optimise capital and unlock value across increasingly complex portfolios.”

The launch of the global life reinsurance practice further strengthens Willis Re’s capabilities across the global reinsurance market and reinforces its commitment to delivering independent advice, innovative solutions and exceptional client outcomes.