Fourteen Bermudian rising re/insurance stars travelled to New York City as part of a tour facilitated by the Bermuda Under-40s Re/Insurance Group.

They spent the week visiting companies in the city and learning about the New York re/insurance market.

The trip was organised by Victoria Cunningham, vice-president of underwriting from Tokio Millennium Re (TMR), as tour leader for the Bermuda Under-40s. Among the group were representatives of various sectors in the industry, including underwriters, pricing analysts, claims professionals and operational analysts.

“The purpose of the trip is to give young professionals working in this space the opportunity to compare and contrast the Bermuda market with another, in this case the US,” Ms Cunningham said.

“It gives them a greater understanding of how things are done elsewhere, to see what they are up against and to have a better idea, in some instances, of how their clients and markets function. It also provides wonderful marketing opportunities, not just with potential US clients, but also with each other.”

As a market group, the Bermuda Under-40s has several hundred registered members in the insurance and reinsurance sector and related industries. The group's aim is to promote and foster interest and knowledge in all areas of the business.

Meetings were held at several broker offices as well as insurance and reinsurance companies covering topics such as transactional liability, commercial auto, cyber, claims, modelling and actuarial, ILS and insurtech.

The group also had a tour and presentation from Bloomberg and a discussion with R3, a blockchain technology company. Evening events were held with sponsored dinners from XL Catlin, RenRe and TMR, as well as an evening networking with the US Re Under 40s group.

“All in all,” Ms Cunningham said, “it was a very successful trip and I would like to thank all those who took part, both by attending and hosting, for making it such a positive experience.”

David Amaro, chairman of the Bermuda Under 40s and vice-president, associate legal counsel at Hamilton Re, said: “A special thank you must also be extended to the companies who hosted the tourists and sponsored various functions — their support was crucial in making this a successful programme again.”

Travelling to New York were: Alicia Churm, underwriting assistant, Hamilton Re; Anthi Xipolia, senior catastrophe pricing analyst, TMR; Antionay Tankard, reinsurance operations accounts administrator, TMR; Ashley Dawson, underwriting assistant, Ariel Re; Beata Rego, multinational account coordinator, AIG; Catherine Wight, underwriting assistant, MS Amlin; Chelsea Mayeaux, assistant underwriter, XL Catlin; Connor Astwood, support analyst, TMR; Jennifer Telford, senior underwriting assistant, XL Catlin; Katie Tester, claims technician, RenRe; Kelli Nusum, AVP, application manager, Hamilton Re; Kelly Rego, reinsurance specialist, operations, RenRe; and Miles Brewer, assistant underwriter, XL Catlin.

• The next tour will take place in London in the fall of 2018. Persons interested in participating in the tour should contact Victoria Cunningham at bdaunder40s@evolution.bm