The Bermuda Business Development Association and Bermuda: Re+ILS hosted a virtual round table discussion with Bermuda’s reinsurance industry leaders on the main challenges it has faced of late – including cat losses, falling interest rates, and the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic – and the opportunities for the Bermuda market to continue to lead and innovate.

The discussion is now detailed in a special edition digital report of Bermuda: Re+ILS.

The participants provided keen insight into industry trends and examined the important role Bermuda has to play in the response of the risk transfer markets globally.

Roland Andy Burrows, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, said: “In the absence of some key reinsurance industry events this year, I am pleased we were able to bring together so many business leaders to discuss their experiences and expectations for the industry at large during these extraordinary times, and for the Bermuda market more specifically.

“As one of the world’s most important insurance and reinsurance hubs, Bermuda has always been at the forefront of providing innovative solutions to increasingly complex risks, and that is continuing. The round table discussion illuminates some of the ideas and solutions being weighed in Bermuda right now.”

The panellists were Brad Adderley, partner, Appleby; David Brown, senior partner, EY Bermuda; Kathleen Faries, chair, ILS Bermuda; Sean Kelly, partner, PwC; Daniel Malloy, CEO, Third Point Re; Andre Perez, CEO, Horseshoe Group; Nicolas Plianthos, senior vice-president, Marsh; Adria Richards, head of property catastrophe – global clients, RenaissanceRe; Anup Seth, global leader, underwriting solutions, Aon; Ariane West, director of structured finance, Nephila Climate; and Gavin Woods, partner, Carey Olsen.

The moderator, Wyn Jenkins, managing editor of Bermuda: Re+ILS and Intelligent Insurer, posed questions to the participants on numerous topics, including the health of Bermuda’s reinsurance market; Bermuda’s role in finding new solutions to problems; Opportunities in the hard market; Expectations for ILS; and M&A activity.

MrJenkins said: “As the global re/insurance industry processes the multiple challenges of late including the consequences of COVID-19, it will also once again respond and reinvent itself and find ways to assist the global economy recover and adjust to the fallout from the pandemic. I fully expect that Bermuda, as it always has, to again be at the heart of this process and it was fantastic to hear the positivity and innovative ideas put forward by so many senior leaders during this discussion.”

The free report is available online at https://newtonmedia.foleon.com/bermuda-reinsurance-and-ils/bda-special-report-2020/cover/. Contact the Bermuda Business Development Agency for more information.