Abir to celebrate 30th anniversary

The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a lunch and forum on September 26.

The Abir@30 event will feature a leadership panel featuring Abir chair & Hamilton CEO Pina Albo; Axis Capital Albert Benchimol, Convex Bermuda CEO Paul Simons and Bermuda market pioneer, Brian O’Hara. It will be moderated by former XL Capital executive Fiona Luck.

Guest speakers will include Premier of Bermuda David Burt, Florida Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky, Association of British Insurers CEO Hannah Gurga, and Justin O’Keefe, chief underwriting officer of RenaissanceRe and chair of the Reinsurance Association of America.

Abir was formed in 1993 after a wave of new reinsurers incorporated in Bermuda in response to a shortage of property insurance capacity caused by Hurricane Andrew, which left a trail of destruction in Florida in 1992.

As Bermuda has evolved into a diversified global re/insurance hub over the past 30 years, Abir has represented the public policy interests of Bermuda’s international insurers and reinsurers. Today, its 30 member companies do business in more than 150 countries, represent about 36% of the global reinsurance market and employ about 82,000 people worldwide, including more than 1,400 in Bermuda.  ABIR members wrote a record $US145 billion of gross written premium in 2022.

The event will take place at the Hamilton Princess in the Princess Ballroom. Doors will open at 12pm and the programme will start promptly at 12.30pm.

Attendees are invited to make a $50 per person donation to the Bermuda College Foundation, which works to secure fundraising support for Bermuda College. For the past three years, ABIR has partnered with Bermuda College and St. John’s University, New York, in supporting the “Special Topics in Insurance: Foundations of Bermuda’s International Re/Insurance Sector” course.

John Huff, President and CEO of ABIR, said: “The ABIR@30 Anniversary Lunch Forum will be a real celebration of Bermuda and its international re/insurance market.  Nearly 70 per cent of Abir members’ Bermuda-based employees are Bermudians, spouses of Bermudians or Permanent Resident’s Certificate holders. Bermudians have played an integral part in the growth and success of the industry.

“Our partnership with Bermuda College reflects ABIR’s commitment to further strengthen our pipeline of local talent. We are proud to support Bermuda College and the education of the Bermudian leaders of the future.”

To register for the ABIR@30 Lunch Forum, click on this link or go to www.abir.bm