ABIR: Bermuda market passed 2017 test with flying colours

The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) has released the 2017 global underwriting results for its member re/insurers, which claims that they successfully met the challenges posed by the year.

The report was unveiled ahead of ABIR’s 25th anniversary leadership forum on July 10.

“2017 natural disaster activity was a significant test for global (re)insurers and the Bermuda market passed with flying colours,” said John Huff, president and chief executive officer of ABIR. “The Bermuda market is estimated to shoulder about $30 billion of losses from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. Members are capitalised and seek to close the insurance protection gap in developed and emerging markets to put risk capacity to work. Expense reduction and exploring new product development opportunities continue to be a focus of ABIR members.”

However, Huff cautioned against making comparisons of aggregates from this year’s underwriting report with previous years, noting that the association added new members along with M&A activity in the industry.

Twenty-one of 23 member re/insurers participated in the 2017 report, writing insurance and reinsurance from underwriting centres in Bermuda, Europe, Asia, North and South America. The 21 re/insurers wrote $97 billion in global gross written premium on a capital and surplus base of $122.1 billion. They reported net income of $4.1 billion in their global businesses.

A wide cross-section of Bermuda’s global insurance market will discuss the state of the industry and major trends affecting risk management at the leadership forum, which marks the 25th anniversary of the ABIR.  The event will see senior executives past and present alongside global regulatory leaders, who will participate in an afternoon of panel debates focused around big themes impacting the industry.