The underlying combined ratio was 91.6%, marking the 15th consecutive quarter below 92%, with commercial achieving a record low underlying combined ratio of 90.7%. Gross written premium, excluding captives, increased by 9%, while net written premium rose by 8%, each representing the strongest quarterly growth this year.
“We’re usually dealing with large corporations and there’s no attachment to the money, you’re looking for value, making sure it makes sense,” said Andersen. “But if you’re with the Red Cross-Red Crescent, you’re either buying an insurance policy, or you’re buying 20 tents, or you’re sending a shipment of food.”
The BCN described Robinson as a committed advocate for Bermuda’s captive insurance industry, noting that her influence extended far beyond her professional work. The organization highlighted that Robinson’s passing leaves a considerable impact on her colleagues, friends, and the industry network, both locally and internationally.
Bermuda’s updated tax policies, including the adoption of a minimum 15% corporate tax rate, enabled the creation of DTAs for reinsurers, reducing 2023 tax liabilities. These DTAs, introduced by the Bermuda Ministry of Finance, treat 2023 taxable income as an intangible asset, set to be amortized over 10 to 15 years, offsetting future taxable income.
The report, written by John Taylor (managing director, general and corporate aviation) and Alex Trotter (executive director, general and corporate aviation), said clients approaching renewals at year-end can look to July renewal trends as a guide, given the competitive dynamics observed mid-year.
“Once a project aligned with our low-carbon technology standards is identified, it goes through a rigorous assessment led by our sustainability experts. If it meets our criteria, the premiums we earn from this transaction are then held as investments in certified green bonds. This way, we create a full-circle benefit: we issue bonds that ensure low-carbon project’s success, and we fuel the sustainable transition of the overall economy,” he said.
Price Forbes Bermuda has announced the promotion of Carrie Kelley (pictured above) to chief executive officer.
Kelley, previously the firm’s managing director, will now oversee all operations at Price Forbes Bermuda. She will report to Chris Bonard, CEO of Ardonagh Specialty (Bermuda) Ltd and group president of Price Forbes Re.
Kelley’s career spans over 20 years in the insurance industry, with experience across broking and underwriting in both the Bermuda and US markets.
Prior to joining Price Forbes Bermuda in 2019, she held senior positions with firms such as Barbican Underwriting Bermuda, Bowring Marsh Bermuda, Guy Carpenter Bermuda, and Marsh USA.
Kelley’s appointment is pending regulatory and Bermuda Immigration approval.
“Price Forbes Re has built a tremendous company over the past five years through the hard work and dedication of our employees and the valued partnerships with our clients and carrier partners. We are well positioned for growth, and I look forward to leading the company to future success,” Kelley said.
Bonard said that Kelley’s experience in the Bermuda and US markets makes her well-suited to lead Price Forbes Bermuda forward as the business enters a new phase.
“We are delighted to appoint Carrie as CEO of Price Forbes Bermuda. Our business is in an exciting phase and Carrie’s extensive experience and leadership within the Bermuda and US markets make her the perfect choice to lead us into our next chapter,” he said.
Earlier this month, the firm’s reinsurance arm, Price Forbes Re, also announced the appointment of Colin Kelley as chief commercial officer (CCO), a newly created role within the company.
In his new capacity, Colin Kelley will collaborate with teams across insurance, reinsurance, and capital markets to develop solutions for the firm’s global clients and trading partners.
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Victor Kuk (pictured), head of P&C reinsurance SID, market units P&C reinsurance at Swiss Re, emphasized the evolving role of reinsurance in a more complex risk environment, citing recent global natural disasters that have exposed weaknesses in traditional risk models.
In a statement, Kuk highlighted that the industry must adopt a proactive approach to new and emerging risks to continue supporting economic stability.
Kuk pointed to recent catastrophic events, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as earthquakes and storms across the Asia-Pacific region, such as Noto, Kyushu, and Super Typhoon Yagi. These disasters have underscored the need for a comprehensive reassessment of how the industry responds to and absorbs large-scale losses.
“The chains of flooding, landslides, and infrastructure damage these events unleashed uncover weaknesses in traditional risk models and the need for a comprehensive reassessment of our industry’s readiness,” Kuk said.
Swiss Re’s research estimates that the natural catastrophe protection gap in the Asia-Pacific region has reached $540 billion over the past decade. Kuk described the traditional role of reinsurers as “shock absorbers,” spreading exposure across geographies and business lines, but noted that the industry’s approach must go beyond that.
“We need to be more proactive in the way we approach emerging risks if we are to deliver on our core mission of improving the region’s resilience for the long term,” he said.
One key area identified by Kuk is the enhancement of modeling expertise. He stressed that historical models do not always account for interactions between risk factors, such as the effects of urbanization on infrastructure in vulnerable coastal regions.
Kuk called for continuous updates to catastrophe models to incorporate factors like economic growth and climate change impacts on weather patterns.
Another focus area for the industry, according to Kuk, is leveraging data more effectively across the insurance value chain. He emphasized the need to gather, pool, and analyze up-to-date data to develop a better understanding of future risk.
“Our structured solutions can support our clients as they navigate a more challenging market environment,” he said, noting that Swiss Re’s offerings can help insurers manage volatility and capital allocation during times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Kuk also highlighted the role of technology, particularly artificial intelligence and machine learning, in upgrading risk assessment models. Swiss Re’s recent acquisition of UK-based Fathom, which specializes in water-related risk models, was a step toward enhancing the precision of natural catastrophe modeling.
“The data Fathom provides adds to our efforts to understand and model the impacts of natural catastrophes like floods,” Kuk said, pointing out how technological advancements are helping insurers anticipate and manage risks more effectively.
Kuk emphasized that partnerships across both public and private sectors are essential to addressing emerging risks. He suggested that reinsurers could work with governments across Asia-Pacific to develop infrastructure away from high-risk areas and invest in cost-effective protective measures.
Additionally, Kuk encouraged collaboration within industry associations to share knowledge on natural catastrophe risks and establish best practices for managing these threats.
“We have witnessed the power of these partnerships when it comes to developing more inclusive insurance products,” he said, noting the benefits of insurance solutions designed to protect vulnerable populations against diverse risk scenarios.
Kuk further stressed the importance of closely collaborating with clients to better understand their risk profiles and operational challenges, which can inform the development of tailored risk management solutions.
Kuk concluded by underlining the need for a collective response to the risks facing the industry. He pointed to platforms like the Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) as crucial forums for dialogue and cooperation.
“The risks we face as an industry and a region demand a collective response,” Kuk said, highlighting the importance of continued collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the sector.
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According to maps of the Ukraine-Russia war, about 20% of Ukraine is a war zone. Eric Andersen (pictured), president of global broker Aon, said one thing frustrating Ukrainian businesses is that global insurers and investors tend to see the whole country as a war zone – even though about 80% of the country remains largely peaceful.
“A real problem on the ground in Ukraine is that the local insurance market can’t get war cover,” said Andersen. The New York-based leader was recently in Australia where he spoke to Insurance Business.
“Essentially, the global market kind of walked out of Ukraine during the invasion,” he said. “So if you are trying to build a building, a house or a school, you can’t get cover for materials or anything in construction.”
However, through an agreement with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), he said Aon now provides war insurance in the peaceful areas of Ukraine for construction projects, education facilities, small businesses and agriculture.
“It’s all available in the local economy and the local brokers are selling it and it’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to,” said Andersen.
Before the war, Andersen said Aon was the largest broker in the country.
“We had a chance to sit with President Zelensky during the UN General Assembly a couple of weeks ago,” said Andersen.
He said a focus for Zelenksy is keeping the financial services sector going.
“So that when peace ultimately breaks out, there’s a functioning economy because that’s what he’s worried most about,” said Andersen.
Andersen said this war insurance offering is “a brand-new way for the DFC to disburse money.”
“We said to the DFC that what we really need, rather than doing one off projects,” he said, “is if they can get comfortable supporting one of the local insurers then what you’re doing is you’re supporting the insurance company as it deploys capital into their local market for more risk.”
He said the DFC is “quite particular” about how it lends money.
“We got a little bit lucky in that Fairfax, which is the big Canadian insurer, had a subsidiary on the ground in Ukraine and so we partnered with that local insurer and put them together with the DFC,” said Andersen.
He said together they went through the DFC’s criteria, including what risks they would cover and in what parts of the country.
“Essentially the DFC committed US$50 million in a reinsurance contract behind the balance sheet of a local insurer,” said Andersen. “It was a really good partnership between the public and private entity and it is putting money to work where it’s needed.”
He said this is also “creating more knowledge” among some European countries more accustomed to making aid donations.
“What they really would rather do is help find ways to build and sustain the economy through the local capability, rather than just kind of airdrop in something,” said Andersen. “We’ve been talking to a number of them about either upsizing the program or taking part of the risk themselves, so that when peace breaks out, the DFC can get out and the private sector can jump back in.”
In the same interview with IB, the Aon president said his meetings with clients showed that many businesses around the world are “unsettled” by the major risks they now face and are looking to brokers for more help.
“Big companies and mid-sized companies in Australia, Europe, Asia and North America – they seem more unsettled than they have been in a long time,” Andersen said.
He said this generalised uncertainty is not country specific and he’s seeing it in clients worldwide.
“No matter where you go around the world, they’re all struggling with what they view as a more risky world and they’re looking for advice and they’re looking for capital and trying to figure out what to do,” he said. “I think there’s a lot out there who are unsettled and they’re looking to us [brokers] to be able to give them better insight and tools,” said the Aon leader.
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Global re/insurer MS Amlin has appointed Jo Hine and Andrew Downes (pictured above) as independent non-executive directors.
Hine will serve as chair of the risk and solvency committee, pending regulatory approval. Hine brings a background in finance, capital, and risk, having held senior roles at Hiscox, Tokio Marine Kiln, QBE European Operations, and Aioi Nissay Dowa Europe, a sister company to MS Amlin.
She is also currently an independent non-executive director at Arch Insurance International and a non-executive director and trustee for the charity Publish What You Fund.
Downes joins the board after a 20-year career as an audit partner at Deloitte, where he managed audit and advisory projects for UK and international clients, including multiple Lloyd’s syndicates, brokers, and Lloyd’s itself.
Downes also serves as a non-executive board member and trustee for the Pimlico Toy Library, a children’s charity in Westminster, and has represented the audit profession on the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales Insurance Committee and Lloyd’s Working Group.
Simon Jeffreys, chair of MS Amlin’s Board, said Hine and Downes both bring a strong understanding of the Lloyd’s market, enhancing the board’s expertise as the company seeks to strengthen its competitive position.
“I am delighted to welcome Jo and Andrew to MS Amlin. Both bring extensive expertise and a deep understanding of the Lloyd’s market, making them valuable additions to the board as we continue to grow our business and strengthen our competitive position,” Jeffreys said.
Last month, the Lloyd’s re/insurer also announced the appointment of Emma Snowdon as head of capital management and investments.
In this role, Snowdon oversees the company’s capital modeling, capital strategy, and investment portfolio management, all aimed at supporting MS Amlin’s long-term growth objectives and financial resilience.
Snowdon is based in London and reports to chief financial officer Jessie Burrows.
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