Member companies of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers wrote 10 per cent more business in 2024 and had an 8.5 per cent increase in total equity.

Abir’s global underwriting report includes data from 25 of 33 member insurers and reinsurers for the calendar year 2024.

The group generated gross written premium of more than $188 billion, up from $171 billion in 2023, driven by organic growth.

In 2024, the group’s total equity increased to $178 billion from $164 billion in 2023.

The participating companies write insurance and reinsurance from underwriting centres in Bermuda, Britain, Europe, Asia and North and South America.

Abir members reported net income of $26.9 billion in 2024 versus $32.2 billion in 2023, as a result of elevated claims.

Mark Cloutier, chairman of Abir and executive chairman of Aspen Insurance Group, commented: “The results of Abir’s global underwriting report reflect strong and growing global demand for the risk-transfer expertise and robust capital base of Abir member companies.

“With accelerating risk awareness, the Bermuda market relevance has never been more important as it consistently delivers world-class industry talent, a universally recognised supervisor, innovation and industry-leading reliability to deliver risk solutions with unparalleled speed to market.”

John Huff, chief executive of Abir, said: “The overall organic growth results demonstrate that Bermuda’s leading insurers and reinsurers continue to play a critical role in providing capital and capacity, innovative solutions for customers and peace of mind for consumers, businesses and communities. Over the past ten years, the Bermuda market has supported over a trillion dollars in claim payments around the world, much of it after a natural disaster.”

Abir analysis indicates over 90 per cent of gross written premium is attributed to publicly-traded member companies.

An Abir statement said that the Bermuda market continues to diversify into growing speciality lines including cyber, mortgage, political and terrorism risk, transactional liability and financial lines coverage, building on the Bermuda market’s historic global dominance in property coverage.

The latest version of the International Financial Reporting Standards 17 has been adopted as the reporting standard by a number of Abir members, and as such the report has been split into two tables to more accurately reflect the differences in the reporting standards.

One table includes members who report using United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, IFRS or Bermuda statutory accounting practices basis and the new second table contains the results for members that report on an IFRS 17 basis. The reported results are not directly comparable to the report from the prior years for these reasons.

Abir’s underwriting data release comes after a report by AM Best, the global credit ratings agency, also highlighted the Bermuda market’s strength and growth.

AM Best’s report, Momentum Remains for Dedicated Reinsurance Capital Beyond the Market Peak, found that Bermudian-based reinsurers grew capital in 2024 by 16 per cent year-on-year, outpacing peers in Europe, the US and Asia.

Bermudian-based companies represent about 15 per cent of global reinsurance capital, the report found.

A large Bermuda contingent is preparing to attend the Rendez-Vous de Septembre, an annual gathering of the global reinsurance industry in Monte Carlo, in September. The event traditionally marks the start of discussions between all industry players ahead of the reinsurance contract renewals in January.