ABIR welcomes Premia as a new member

Run-off specialist Premia Holdings has joined the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR). A global acquirer and reinsurer of run-off portfolios, Premia’s chief executive Bill O’Farrell has also joined the ABIR board.

The new addition brings ABIR’s number of member carriers to 30 in the same year as it is celebrating 30 years of representing the public policy interests of Bermuda’s leading international re/insurers. It also has four intermediaries in its Broker Advisory Cabinet.

O’Farrell joined Arch Capital Group in 2016 as an executive vice president to lead the formation of Premia, in which Arch is an investor. He raised over $500 million of capital to form it in 2017, and the company was named startup of the year by the Intelligent Insurer magazine. It has since assumed over $4 billion in reserves and has nearly $1 billion in capital under management, including its sidecar.

Premia Reinsurance Ltd., the group’s flagship Class 4 reinsurer, is based in Bermuda, while Premia also has insurance and reinsurance operations in the US, continental Europe and the UK, including a Lloyd’s managing agency.

Pina Albo, chair of ABIR and CEO of Hamilton Insurance Group, said: “Legacy carrier Premia plays a key role in an important and growing sector of Bermuda’s global re/insurance market. We are pleased to welcome Premia as a member of ABIR.”

O’Farrell added: “The Bermuda market offers an established and sophisticated regulatory framework with opportunities for innovation. This framework, coupled with market-leading talent, global acceptance and capital access, has allowed Bermuda and Premia to succeed.

“We are pleased to join ABIR and to become part of an organisation that has raised the profile of this vibrant market now for three decades.”