Stephen Catlin, chief executive officer of Catlin Group Ltd, has been elected chair of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2015.

Mr Catlin succeeds XL Group plc CEO Mike McGavick who completes his two-year term December 31, 2014.

Elected as First Deputy Chair was Costas Miranthis, president and CEO of PartnerRe Ltd, and Kevin O’Donnell, president and CEO of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd was elected second deputy chair.

Brad Kading, ABIR president and executive director, noted that Mr McGavick’s leadership came at a critical time for the membership as he guided the association with twin priorities, defending itself against the proposed discriminatory reinsurance tax in the US and leading industry consensus building for Bermuda regulatory changes that would allow the Bermuda Monetary Authority to be a candidate for equivalence under the European Union’s Solvency 2 directive.

ABIR represents 21 commercial insurers and reinsurers with Bermuda underwriting operations. ABIR’s members at year-end 2013 wrote $70 billion in global gross written premium on a capital and surplus base of $95 billion.