9 December 2014News

BMA seminar discusses drivers of change

The 2014 Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) insurance seminar has been hailed a great success, as experienced industry veterans took part in a panel discussing the drivers of change.

Moderated by BMA board director, Fiona Luck, the six-man panel consisted of: John Nelson, chairman of Lloyd’s; Andrew Bailey, the deputy governor of the Bank of England and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Prudential Regulation Authority; Mike McGavick, CEO of XL Group; Brian Duperreault, CEO of Hamilton Insurance Group; Frank Majors, co-founder and principal of Nephila Capital; and Dennis Mahoney, a board director with Ironshore.

Jeremy Cox, CEO of the BMA, said: “We were very fortunate to have Mr. Nelson and Mr. Bailey speak at our seminar. It is a testament to the reputation of both the international insurance market and the BMA, that we were able to attract such London heavyweights to Bermuda.

“Our speakers did a fine job of helping to raise the level of understanding of the new normal in the risk transfer industry. But they did something else too. They willingly engaged in an open, unscripted public conversation about the drivers of change. And that’s a format that can challenge even the most practiced speakers. If there’s a common thread running through all the deliberations, it is that this is surely an industry that is never still, that is in perpetual motion. Not a day goes by that we don’t hear or read something about change in one form or another.”

“In the face of such continued change, the Authority needs to focus on bringing about continued stability along with a continued strengthening of relationships at all levels of the risk industry. That, I believe, is the only way we can ensure that, together, we respond effectively to the pressures and forces that are shaping the financial services landscape.

“I believe insurance is all about relationships. And I believe that these typically require the oxygen of good communications in order to flourish. In my view, there is no better kind of communication than the face-to-face kind. That’s partly why the seminar was such a huge success.”