Bermuda reinsurers prominent in AM Best top 50

Sixteen companies with close Bermuda connections are in AM Best’s list of the world’s 50 largest reinsurers.

The list, released on Tuesday, also showed that the upcoming merger of RenaissanceRe and Validus Re would put RenRe into the top ten by gross written premiums if the merged companies retained all of their business.

In terms of non-life reinsurers, the combined RenRe and Validus would be the sixth largest in the world.

While industry giants Munich Re and Swiss Re retained the top two positions in the overall GWP standings, Bermuda-based Everest Re was in 10th place with $9.3 billion, followed by RenRe in 11 with $9.2 billion, PartnerRe in 12th with $8.7 billion and Arch Capital in 14th with 6.9 billion.

RenRe would move past Everest to 10th if it combined its GWP with Validus’s for a total of $12.3 billion.

Other Bermuda registered re/insurers in the top 50 were:

23. Validus $3.1 billion

27. Axis Capital $2.6 billion

32. Aspen $1.8 billion

37. SiriusPoint $1.5 billion

40. Convex $1.4 billion

45. Hiscox $1 billion

46 Somers Group (formerly Watford Re) $1 billion*

49 Lancashire $842 million

*40% owned by Arch Capital

Other companies with close Bermuda ties include AXA XL, which was 21st with $3.4 billion, Allied World, 39th, 1.5 billion, Markel, 41st, $1.2 billion and Chubb, 42nd, $1.1 billion.

When reinsurers were measured solely by non-life GWP, the Bermuda companies moved up the list.

Everest Re is the 7th largest non-life reinsurer, while RenRe would be 8th , Partner Re would be 9th and Arch would round out the top ten.

AXA XL would move to 16th, Validus would move to 19th and Axis Capital would move to 20th.

The combined RenRe and Validus would move to sixth place on the non-life list, behind Berkshire Hathaway and ahead of Scor.