Bermuda’s role in the next era of risk
As risk grows more complex and interconnected, Bermuda’s strength lies in its ability to combine capital, expertise and trust, says BDA managing director Kendaree Burgess.
Bermuda’s relevance has never been measured by size. It has been measured by what happens when risk becomes real.
For decades, Bermuda’s market has helped the world respond to moments of disruption: major natural catastrophes, financial shocks, terrorism, cyber threats, capital constraints and geopolitical uncertainty. It is then that the island has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to bring capital, expertise and urgency together when new solutions are needed most.
That history matters because the world is again entering a period in which the nature of risk is changing.
Climate volatility, secondary perils, cyber exposure, AI, litigation trends, geopolitical tension and widening protection gaps are reshaping the global risk landscape. These are not isolated challenges. They are connected, fast-moving and increasingly complex. They require markets that can combine innovation with discipline, capital strength with regulatory trust and speed with substance.
That is where Bermuda continues to lead.
Today, Bermuda reinsurers represent approximately 36% of the global property and casualty reinsurance market by net premiums earned. ABIR member companies reported $188 bn in gross written premium in 2024, up from $171 bn the year before, with total equity rising to $178 bn. Bermuda commercial insurers and reinsurers have incurred more than $1 tn in gross claims costs to policyholders and cedants globally between 2016 and 2024.
Those figures tell an important story. Bermuda is not simply a place where risk is discussed. It is a market that pays claims, mobilises capital and supports recovery when it matters most.
The Bermuda advantage
Bermuda’s advantage is not based on scale alone, but on concentration, credibility and execution.
On one island, Bermuda brings together global reinsurers, specialty insurers, captive managers, brokers, lawyers, actuaries, fund managers, corporate service providers, technologists, regulators and public sector leaders. The result is an ecosystem where complex issues can be understood quickly and acted on with discipline.
That proximity matters. In a world where risk moves quickly, the ability to convene decision-makers, test ideas and bring credible solutions to market is a competitive advantage. Bermuda’s scale allows for agility, while its regulatory and professional standards provide the confidence global markets require.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority is central to that confidence. Strong, independent and internationally recognised supervision is not a supporting feature of the Bermuda market; it is part of the value proposition. Cedants, investors and policyholders need to know that the capital behind the promise is real, well regulated and able to respond. In reinsurance, trust is not abstract. It is the foundation on which every transaction depends.
This is increasingly important as risk becomes more complex. Not all capital is equal, and not all reinsurance is created equal. The jurisdictions that will lead in the next phase of the market are those that can combine capital formation with safety, soundness, transparency and speed.
Bermuda is one of those jurisdictions.
A broader risk platform
Bermuda’s leadership is increasingly defined by the breadth of its risk platform. The island remains a global centre for catastrophe, specialty and reinsurance capacity, but its relevance now extends across a wider spectrum of risk: companies using captives to retain and finance complex exposures more strategically; insurers using long-term reinsurance to manage longevity, retirement and asset-intensive liabilities and institutional investors participating in risk through ILS and alternative capital structures.
That breadth matters because risk itself is changing. It is becoming more interconnected, more capital-intensive and less confined to traditional categories. Companies are retaining more complex exposures on their own balance sheets. Insurers are seeking sophisticated solutions for long-duration obligations. Investors are looking for disciplined ways to participate in risk. Governments and communities are looking for markets that can help close protection gaps without weakening financial stability.
Bermuda’s strength is its ability to connect these needs through capital, regulation, underwriting expertise and innovation. It is not simply a centre of reinsurance capacity. It is a platform for resilience.
Global risk requires global distribution
Insurance and reinsurance are global by design. Risk should not be concentrated in one geography, one balance sheet or one system. It must be spread across markets, perils and sources of capital.
That principle is becoming more important, not less. A Florida hurricane, a California wildfire, a Japanese flood, a cyber event and a geopolitical shock do not behave in the same way. They require different modelling, different underwriting assumptions and different capital strategies. The strength of the market lies in understanding those differences and building portfolios that can absorb volatility over time.
This is why Bermuda’s international role matters. In periods of uncertainty, there can be a temptation to localise risk. But concentration can make systems more fragile. Global risk requires global capital, global expertise and trusted jurisdictions that know how to connect them.
Bermuda has an important role to play in that architecture. Our market brings together catastrophe expertise, alternative capital, analytics and underwriting experience in a way few jurisdictions can match.
Innovation with discipline
Bermuda’s reputation for innovation is sometimes misunderstood. Innovation here is not about novelty for its own sake. It is about solving real market problems.
The Bermuda market helped advance the use of data, analytics and risk modelling in reinsurance. That remains a key differentiator. Relationships still matter, but the modern risk market is driven by deeper analysis, more granular underwriting and a clearer understanding of aggregation.
Cyber risk illustrates the challenge. Demand for cyber protection continues to grow, but the exposure is difficult to model and can accumulate in ways that differ from traditional catastrophe risk. AI adds another layer of complexity, creating both new efficiencies and new exposures. The market must consider liability, operational dependency, systemic failure and the concentration of risk across digital infrastructure.
Bermuda is well placed to contribute to that work because its market is experienced in complex risk aggregation. The island’s specialty insurers and reinsurers understand that coverage must be meaningful, but also sustainable.
That balance is important. The next era of risk will not reward markets that simply move fastest. It will reward markets that can move with purpose, judgment and credibility.
Building what comes next
The next era of global risk will require more than capacity. It will require clarity, discipline and trust.
It will command markets that understand the importance of rate adequacy and responsible underwriting and need regulators that are credible and responsive. It will require capital that is willing to support risk, but only where risk can be understood and priced, as well as international diversification at a time when risk is becoming more interconnected and consequential.
Above all, it will require jurisdictions that understand both the promise and the responsibility of being a global risk centre.
The Bermuda Business Development Agency’s role is to support that proposition with focus and substance: to promote Bermuda’s strengths, convene the right conversations, support market growth and help tell the story of a jurisdiction that continues to lead because it continues to evolve.
Bermuda has earned its position by responding to some of the world’s most difficult risk challenges. The island’s market has paid claims, formed capital, supported recovery and adapted across cycles. That track record gives Bermuda the right to lead, but it also carries a responsibility to keep building.
We are not simply looking back at a successful market history. We are building on it.
Bermuda’s role is to help the world understand, finance and recover from risk – and to do so with the discipline, innovation and resilience that the next era demands.
Kendaree Burgess is managing director at the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA). To find out more about the BDA visit bda.bm.
For more news on Bermuda Risk Review 2026, click here.
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