Bermuda Insurers, Reinsurers Posted Healthy Premium Growth in 2021

Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) member companies posted a 21 percent year-over-year increase in net premiums written in 2021, according to the ABIR.

The ABIR's global underwriting report is based on data from 25 of 29 member insurers and reinsurers for the 2021 calendar year. The group generated $98.6 billion in net written premiums during the year, up from $81.6 billion in 2020, the ABIR reported.

The group of 25 insurers and reinsurers wrote $127.9 billion in gross written premiums worldwide in 2021 on a capital and surplus base of $139.6, the ABIR said. The group reported a net income of $15.5 billion for the year.

The ABIR said the group's net premiums written benefited from market growth and improving underwriting conditions, with an expectation for additional progress in 2022. The deployment of some of the approximately $19 billion in risk capital introduced by Bermuda start-ups and scale-ups in 2020 and 2021 also contributed to growth, the association said.

A notable trend was the growth since 2020 in the insurers' and reinsurers' specialty and casualty portfolios, the ABIR said, with more companies offering products like cyber insurance and financial lines coverage.

"Bermuda's leading insurers and reinsurers remain significant providers of protection and peace of mind for consumers around the world, with robust growth since 2020," John M. Huff, CEO of the ABIR, said in a statement. "Building on a distinguished 3-decade track record of providing global climate risk and natural catastrophe protection through property reinsurance, Bermuda insurers and reinsurers are also becoming the specialty and casualty market of choice."

The ABIR statement said the Bermuda market is responding to demand driven by such trends as geopolitical volatility, economic uncertainty, and social inflation for war, political risk, terrorism, inflation-triggered financial lines, and professional liability coverages. Bermuda insurers and reinsurers are also continuing to see growth in mortgage, casualty, agriculture, aviation, marine, and renewable energy coverage lines, the ABIR said.