Hamilton, Bermuda (July 3, 2018) – The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) today released the 2017 global underwriting results for its member (re)insurers ahead of its 25^th anniversary leadership forum next week. Twenty-one of 23 member (re)insurers participated in this 2017 report. The companies write insurance and reinsurance from underwriting centers in Bermuda, Europe, Asia, North and South America. The 21 (re)insurers wrote $97 billion (US) in global gross written premium on a capital and surplus base of $122.1 billion. They reported net income of $4.1 billion in their global businesses. The gross premium to equity ratio for the group was .79 to 1.

“2017 natural disaster activity was a significant test for global (re)insurers and the Bermuda market passed with flying colors. The Bermuda market is estimated to shoulder about $30 billion of losses from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.” said John M. Huff, President and CEO of ABIR. “Members are capitalized and seek to close the insurance protection gap in developed and emerging markets to put risk capacity to work. Expense reduction and exploring new product development opportunities continue to be a focus of ABIR members.”

An impressive who’s who of Bermuda’s global insurance market will discuss the state of the industry and major trends affecting risk management at an upcoming leadership forum marking the 25th anniversary of the ABIR.  The event, scheduled July 10, will see high-profile executives past and present alongside global regulatory leaders participate in an afternoon of panel debates focused around big themes impacting the industry. For more information on the event, please contact Priscilla.Briones@abir.bm.

Note: Huff cautioned against making comparisons of aggregates from this year’s underwriting report with previous years, noting that the association added new members along with M&A activity in the industry.

Past reports are available on the ABIR website at www.ABIR.bm.

File: ABIR member individual and aggregate results

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About ABIR: The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) represents the public-policy interests of Bermuda’s international property and casualty insurers and reinsurers that protect consumers around the world.   Bermuda is the center of global expertise on underwriting for catastrophe risk transfer products and other specialty insurance and reinsurance. For more information, please visit: www.abir.bm. Follow us on Twitter @ABIR_Bermuda.