The Bermudians are here to stay. That was the conclusion of leading brokers and analysts at this year's reinsurance Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo.
Director of financial services ratings at Standard & Poor's Stephen Searby said the new guard of Bermudian reinsurers may have a business model which gives them the edge. Searby said the more opportunistic approach of the start-ups, based on short term relationships with clients coupled with a lack of legacy issues, meant that they had a sustainable advantage over the more established European reinsurers.
Searby said that some of the larger reinsurers should follow the Bermudians' lead and become more opportunistic. "There has certainly been a reshuffling of the pack," he said.
Charles Cantlay, deputy chairman of Aon Re UK also backed the future of the Bermudian start-ups. "Bermuda is a very important market," he said.
But Cantlay added that the Bermudian market was likely to consolidate to three or four major players as those start-ups with a smaller share of the market look for exit strategies.
