Bermuda's largest insurance and reinsurance groups reported strong growth in 1995 despite softening property and casualty markets worldwide, the Registrar of Companies said yesterday.

Bermuda's Class 4 excess liability and property catastrophe reinsurers especially registered strong gains in combined capital and surplus, gross premiums and total assets during the 12 months ended December 31, 1995.

Their capital and surplus rose 23 percent to $7.9 billion from $6.4 billion while gross premiums written gained 19 percent to $3.1 billion from $2.6 billion. Net premiums written increased 15 percent to $3 billion from $2.6 billion. Class 4 insurers are required to have minimum capital and surplus of $100 million.

Total assets climbed 32 percent to reach $14.8 billion compared to $11.2 billion.

Registrar of Companies Kymn Astwood said that the figures indicate an "ultra conservative'' net premium to capital and surplus ratio of .38 to one which was less than the .5 to one ratio of the market as a whole in 1994.

He attributed this 1995 surplus ratio to a "concerted effort by the industry to maintain an adequate cushion to absorb adverse loss deviation''.

At January 1, Class 3 and 4 licence holders as a group comprised 21 percent, or 293, of all Bermuda's 1,401 international insurers.

But the group's 1995 business writings represented about 80 percent of the total market's net premiums written in 1994 while their combined 1995 shareholders' equity accounted for 69 percent of the market's capital and surplus as it existed at December 31, 1994.

Gross premiums written for Class 3 and 4 combined in 1995 was $14.6 billion while net premiums written for the two classes was $12 billion.

Total assets for Class 3 and 4 insurers for the year was $53.2 billion while capital and surplus was $20.5 billion.

For 1994, all classes combined, gross premiums written were $18.8 billion, net premiums written were $14.9 billion, total assets were $76.1 billion and capital and surplus was $29.8 billion.

For 1995, Class 3 had gross premiums written and net premiums written of $11.5 billion and $9 billion respectively. The group had total assets of $38.4 billion and capital and surplus of $12.6 billion. There are no 1994 comparative figures as the first statutory filing year for Class 3 insurers was the 1995 financial year.