Brit Re premiums up in 2019

Brit Re, the Bermuda reinsurance operation of Brit, generated premiums of $110.1 million in 2019, up from $91.5 million in 2018.

At the group level, Brit generated profit on ordinary activities before tax of $186.3 million. In 2018 it had reported a loss of $190.3 million. Its gross written premiums for 2019 were $2.3 billion, a 2.4 percent increase on the $2.2 billion written in 2018, while its combined ratio fell to 95.8 percent, from 103.3 percent in 2018.

The results also showed Brit Global Specialty Bermuda’s property team has earned $30m in gross premiums through a mix of US cat and retro business since launching in 2013.

The business will work closely with Sussex Re and Brit Re to build up the reinsurance platform, Brit said. Sussex Capital writes business through Sussex Re in Bermuda, providing direct collateralised reinsurance and collateralised reinsurance to Brit’s reinsurance portfolio.

Brit third party capacity managed on Sussex, Versutus II and Syndicate 2988, expanded to over $440m for 2019, up from $400m in 2018.

Matthew Wilson, group chief executive officer of Brit, hailed an “encouraging set of results, reflecting our clear strategy, which is focused on leadership, innovation and distribution, and the talent and commitment of our people.”

Mark Allan, group chief financial officer, added: “It was particularly pleasing that despite major catastrophe loss creep for the market, there was no material change to our overall net 2017 and 2018 major loss position.

In December Brit launched Sussex Specialty Insurance Fund, offering institutional investors direct access to Lloyd’s underwritten specialty insurance and reinsurance through an ILS fund structure. The fund accesses Lloyd’s by providing capital to support Syndicate 2988 and offers a diversified basket of risks from across the Lloyd’s market, underwritten by Brit’s global platform.

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