A.M. Best Special Report: Bermuda - Building Capacity.OLDWICK, N.J. -- For 2003 and the first six months of 2004, the majority of Bermuda insurance and reinsurance The contract made between an insurance company and a third party to protect the insurance company from losses. The contract provides for the third party to pay for the loss sustained by the insurance company when the company makes a payment on the original contract. companies have enjoyed excellent earnings and robust capital growth amid continued favorable business opportunities, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a special report issued by A.M. Best Co. During this period, the Bermuda market has further entrenched en·trench also in·trench v. en·trenched, en·trench·ing, en·trench·es v.tr. 1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending. 2. its position as a "market of choice" among brokers and ceding cede tr.v. ced·ed, ced·ing, cedes 1. To surrender possession of, especially by treaty. See Synonyms at relinquish. 2. companies alike. So much so, that of the top 35 global reinsurers, 11 now call Bermuda home, up from seven just two years ago. As U.S. and European reinsurers continue to deal with the lingering ramifications ramifications npl → Auswirkungen pl of legacy issues associated with the prior soft market, asbestos losses and investment meltdowns, the financial capacity of Bermuda's reinsurers has soared. The so called "flight to quality" by reinsurance buyers is now more than ever necessitating a visit to Bermuda. The flow of primary business to Bermuda is also on the increase, generally via onshore subsidiaries. While Ace and XL Capital tout the largest primary insurance operations, Allied World, Axis Specialty, Arch Capital, Endurance Specialty and Renaissance Re also have significant primary platforms, which have demonstrated robust premium growth through the hardest phase of the insurance cycle. Bermuda's growth and enhanced market position are the result of the island's now-legendary operating platform, which enables Bermuda companies to set up shop quickly and allows them to operate with substantial competitive advantages over their U.S. and European competitors. These advantages include no income taxes and few restrictions as to how Bermuda companies can invest their assets and deploy capital, not to mention the island's close proximity to the largest insurance market in the world, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . These factors, along with the current favorable market conditions, have contributed to the robust financial performance of the Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market. The big question now is: how long can this trend really last? Gross written premiums for the top 15 Bermuda-domiciled reinsurance companies increased 55.2% in 2003 to $25.3 billion. A.M. Best estimates that this composite comprises more than 90% of Bermuda's reinsurance business. This growth in gross written premiums was essentially across the board for the top 15 Bermuda reinsurers. Since 2002, Bermuda insurers and reinsurers have, to varying degrees, credited their strong earnings to the absence of a major catastrophe loss. This trend continued for the first two quarters of 2004 but abruptly ended August 13, when Hurricane Charley This article is about the Atlantic hurricane of 2004; for other storms named Hurricane Charley, see Hurricane Charley (disambiguation). Hurricane Charley was the third named storm, the second hurricane, and the second major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. became the first major hurricane to make landfall land·fall n. 1. The act or an instance of sighting or reaching land after a voyage or flight. 2. The land sighted or reached after a voyage or flight. in Florida since Hurricane Andrew This article is about the 1992 hurricane; there was also a Tropical Storm Andrew during the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Andrew is the second-most-destructive hurricane in U.S. history, and the last of three Category 5 hurricanes that made U.S. hit in 1992. Based on early estimates of the total industry losses, there is no doubt that the cost to the Bermuda insurance and reinsurance market alone will be in the $1 billion range. BestWeek subscribers can download a PDF (Portable Document Format) The de facto standard for document publishing from Adobe. On the Web, there are countless brochures, data sheets, white papers and technical manuals in the PDF format. copy of all full reports at no additional cost, or a combination of the PDF copies plus all related spreadsheet files of the report data at no additional cost from our Web site at http://www.bestweek.com. Nonsubscribers can download a PDF copy of the full report (12 pages) for $50 or a combination of the PDF copy plus the spreadsheet file of the study data for $100 at http://www.bestweek.com. A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion