By Anna Lopata – ANZIIF senior writer

As reinsurers rethink capital, catastrophe protection and emerging risks, ANZIIF’s Reinsurance International Study Course marks 60 years of helping professionals turn technical knowledge into practical judgement.

When Teresa Aquilina (pictured) first entered reinsurance more than three decades ago, she admits she “did not even know what reinsurance was”.

It was not part of a grand career plan. Her first role was with NRG Victory, followed by ReAC as a property underwriter covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

From there, she moved to Swiss Re in Sydney, first as a client manager and later as a senior casualty treaty underwriter. She joined Guy Carpenter as a senior broker before moving into her current role as  Head of Risk and Operations.

Market moves

Across her 35-year career, Aquilina has seen reinsurance from both sides of the table: underwriting risk and broking protection. She has also seen the market move from a relationship-driven, technically demanding niche into a central discipline for capital, resilience and strategy.

That is one reason ANZIIF’s Reinsurance International Study Course, better known as RISC, remains relevant as it celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2026.

The course has changed over the years, but its purpose has not. RISC is an intensive, hands-on program designed to give insurance and reinsurance professionals a practical understanding of how reinsurance works in the real market.

Participants learn through expert-led presentations and syndicate work, supported by experienced advisors with deep regional and international expertise.

From student to mentor

For Aquilina, who has attended, presented and served on the RISC Organising Committee, the enduring value is not only the technical content. It is the transfer of judgement.

“I do recall the course being very different back then,” Aquilina says. “I remember there was a property and a casualty stream. I was very young and new to the industry when I attended the course and at first it was quite overwhelming.”

What stayed with her was the calibre of the syndicate advisors and the generosity with which they shared their experience.

“It is not just about the technical knowledge you gain,” she says. “It’s about the friendships that you make that continue with you throughout your lifetime ”

Greater focus on secondary perils

That combination of technical learning and industry connection matters more now, not less.

In recent years, reinsurers and brokers have had to recalibrate after a period of sharp catastrophe losses, inflation, capital pressure and changing appetites.

Aquilina points to a greater focus on secondary perils such as flood and bushfire, more capital volatility, higher attachment points, stronger attention to return on capital and growing interest in “top and drop” covers and parametric solutions.

The global data supports that shift. Natural catastrophe losses are increasingly being driven by frequent, often localised events such as storms, floods and wildfires, rather than only the peak perils that have traditionally dominated reinsurance thinking.

In 2025, Swiss Re Institute reported that secondary perils accounted for a record 92% of global natural catastrophe insured losses.

Capacity and leverage

At the same time, the 2026 renewal environment has brought more capacity and stronger buyer leverage. Guy Carpenter reported expanded reinsurance capacity at the January 2026 renewals, while Aon noted that some Asia Pacific markets achieved rate reductions of up to 20% at April renewals, supported by abundant capacity and relatively benign catastrophe experience.

For insurers, that does not mean the risk environment has eased. It means the conversation has moved.

Buyers are not simply asking whether they can secure capacity. They are asking how much risk to retain, where to attach, how to protect earnings, how to manage volatility and where alternative structures may fit.

Broker’s role evolves

Aquilina says the role of the reinsurance broker has evolved accordingly.

“The role of the reinsurance broker was more about accessing reinsurance markets, obtaining quotes, negotiating terms and conditions, placing programs and assisting with claims recoveries,” she says.

Today, she says, brokers are expected to act as strategic partners, helping with reinsurance structures, optimal retention levels, risk appetite, analytics, modelling, capital management and global market insight.

“Gone are the days of insurers just relying on brokers for reinsurance placement,” she says. “Now the expectation is to help with their capital, strategies and so on.”

Adapting to shifts

That expectation is being shaped by the forces now sitting at board level: climate change, cyber accumulation, geopolitical instability, social inflation, pandemic risk, artificial intelligence and intellectual property disputes.

Aquilina sees climate change as the dominant issue for the decade ahead, with cyber risk continuing to evolve as businesses become more digitally dependent.

Her own career has been built on adapting to those shifts. She spent many years as an underwriter before moving into broking, a change that gave her a closer view of clients’ businesses and how reinsurance decisions are made.

“As a broker, you learn a lot about your clients and the operation of their business,” she says. “Over time you build up great relationships with your clients and with your reinsurers. To me, trust is one of the most important aspects of the job.”

That idea of trust sits at the centre of RISC. Over 60 years, the program has helped develop generations of reinsurance professionals by creating a space where participants can test ideas, ask questions and learn from practitioners who have seen market cycles unfold in real time.

Niche but not narrow

Teresa continues to give her time to the program because she sees its impact directly.

“It is a great training ground for all who want to understand reinsurance,” she says. “It is so rewarding to see when participants first start at the course to the time they are presenting. It makes me feel proud of what they have achieved.”

For younger professionals, particularly women, her message is clear: reinsurance may be niche, but it is not narrow. It can lead to underwriting, claims, broking, actuarial work, overseas roles, secondments and long careers built around technical depth and human connection.

Need for skilled professionals

Aquilina has worked full time throughout her career while raising four children. She has travelled internationally, taken secondments and continued to progress in a demanding sector.

“There is so much to learn and so much diversity within the roles,” she says.

She adds what keeps her engaged is simple: the people and the constant movement of the market.

“It is never boring,” she says.

As RISC marks its 60th year, that may be the clearest statement of its continuing purpose. Reinsurance keeps changing. The need for skilled, curious and connected professionals does not.