Bermuda Reinsurers: 2012 Results Improve

April 16, 2013

1bermuda_flag_stockPremium volume, net income and capital levels improved for Bermuda-based reinsurers in 2012, according to data released to “Business Insurance” magazine on Monday [Apr. 15] by the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers [ABIR].

The report, based on a survey including 19 of the association’s 21 member companies, found that global gross written premium for the group in 2012 was $66.4 billion, compared with $65.8 billion in 2011. The group’s net income rose to $9.44 billion in 2012, compared with $1.49 billion in the previous year.

The group’s capital base also rose to $95.2 billion, up from $89.7 billion in 2011.

“The $9.4 billion in net income demonstrated a good recovery from the worst ever global loss year of 2011,” Bradley Kading, president and executive director of ABIR, said in a statement carried by the industry journal. “But this number was still below net income reported by the membership in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.”

Mr. Kading noted that the group continued to sustain losses from natural catastrophes.

“Bermuda’s re/insurers have reported nearly $3 billion in estimated losses from Hurricane Sandy,” he said. “In the period 2001 through 2012, this brings the Bermuda re/insurers estimated catastrophe loss payments to United States customers to $35 billion.”

Despite the losses, the Bermuda’s reinsurance sector has an abundance of capital and remains competitive, he said. “ABIR members grew their equity base by six percent year over year,” he said. “The $95 billion capital and surplus base is the largest ever reported in the seven years in which ABIR has been collecting global underwriting data.”

The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers represents more than 20 of the island’s international insurers and reinsurers. With headquarters and operations in Bermuda and with operating subsidiaries in the United States and Europe, these carriers derive business income from over 100 countries around the world.

The ABIR membership has more than 15,000 employees in the US, nearly 1,700 employees in Bermuda and nearly 34,000 employees around the world.

ABIR’s mission is to represent the public policy interests of Bermuda’s Class 4 insurers and reinsurers around the world, giving special priority to regulatory action in Bermuda, Europe, US, and international regulatory forums; and to promote Bermuda’s Class 4 reinsurers as the best in the business in ceding insurer forums.

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