Bermuda

PartnerRe President & Chief Executive Officer Patrick Thiele has said the group is pleased with its performance during the January 1 renewals, the first since the acquisition of Paris Re.

With Hurricane Bill having missed the Leewards islands the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalising a partnership to facilitate capacity building and to develop strategies for mitigating the physical and socio-economic impacts of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, on countries in the region.

The Bermuda market has faced its fair share of challenges in recent years says Brad Kading President and Executive Director of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers but the future is looking far more positive.

XL Group Chief Executive Michael McGavick has warned the global re/insurance market it faces a major threat from rampant regulatory change and warned “we have yet to kill the vampire”.

Allied World Assurance and Transatlantic Holdings have announced the first major industry consolidation of the year. While the two sides say this is a merger of equals analysts believe the announcement could flush out other bidders.

The January renewals have seen no sign of any arrest to the steady slide in rating  levels and  while talk is of challenging times and the need for calm there will be those in the sector which are looking eagerly for a storm to shock the market out of its downwards drift.

XL Re, the global reinsurance operations of XL Group and Aon Benfield today announced that XL Re XL’s Bermuda-domiciled reinsurance subsidiary has teamed up with Aon Benfield to become the first local reinsurer to successfully implement automated accounts and cash transactions using ACORD messaging standards.