XL Group and Catlin Group have completed their merger — and today the integration of the two insurers begins in earnest.

The Royal Gazette understands that 30 underwriting, actuarial and claims staff will this morning relocate from the Catlin office in the Washington Mall building to XL’s O’Hara House on Bermudiana Road — the home of the new combined company to be known as XL Catlin.

The relocating group comprises roughly half of the Bermuda-based employees of Catlin Group.

The two companies announced the completion of the $4.1 billion deal on Friday. XL Catlin chief executive officer Mike McGavick told this newspaper that it was too early to say exactly what the impact of the merger would be on the Bermuda operations.

“We’ve been rolling out the organisational design of the combined company and naming the leaders of functions and businesses in the group,” Mr McGavick said. “Only now that the deal has closed can we get down to the nitty-gritty of the integration.”

XL is targeting cost savings of around $200 million from the amalgamation, most likely partially being achieved by redundancies, as well as by infrastructure efficiencies.

Mr McGavick said it was too soon to comment on jobs, but added that he valued Catlin’s intellectual capital. “This is a combination of two great franchises and we don’t intend to squander what we purchased,” he said.

The company would work as quickly as possible to inform staff about their futures, he said.

Bermuda was a key insurance and reinsurance underwriting hub for both companies, he said — and would remain so for XL Catlin.

“We have said throughout the process that the underwriting area would be among the least affected by the merger, given the clients and relationships they have built up and that we want to keep,” Mr McGavick said.

From today, the new combined company will be marketed as XL Catlin and a global advertising campaign and new public website will be launched in time with the market introduction of the new XL Catlin name and brand tomorrow.

Mr McGavick will lead the combined company as chief executive officer, while Stephen Catlin, the founder and CEO of Catlin, has joined XL as executive deputy chairman, also serving on the company’s board of directors.

The parent company will continue to be known as XL Group plc.

In a statement on Friday, Mr McGavick said: “Starting today, we are a larger, stronger, more capable firm, with a leading presence in the global specialty insurance and reinsurance markets. Most importantly, with our combined talent and expertise we are now in an incredible position to better assist clients in solving the world’s most complex risks.”

Mr Catlin added: “After 30 years as CEO of Catlin, I’m excited to be taking this next step with XL. Without doubt, today is an exciting day for our new company, XL Catlin.

“With greater scale, capacity and an expanded platform of products and services, we look forward to creating increased value for our shareholders, clients, brokers, employees and partners.”

Some leadership posts in the combined company have already been allocated. Greg Hendrick, previously chief executive of insurance operations at XL, is now chief executive of reinsurance. Paul Brand, formerly Catlin’s chief underwriting officer, is chief underwriting officer for insurance and serves as chair of the Insurance Leadership Team. And Kelly Lyles, previously XL’s head of professional lines is now chief regional officer, insurance and deputy chair of the Insurance Leadership Team.

Several reinsurers have announced merger deals in recent months as competitive pressures grow from an influx of new capital into the industry in the form of insurance-linked securities like catastrophe bonds, and hedge fund-backed start-ups.

RenaissanceRe has completed its acquisition of Platinum, while Axis announced an agreement to merge with PartnerRe, a deal which has been thrown into doubt by a $6.4 billion counter bid for PartnerRe from Italian investment firm Exor. Endurance has also agreed to buy Montpelier Re.

Mr McGavick expects more consolidation. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, he said: “There are a number of pressures in the sector. There is a thirst for new capability so I think there will be more.”