CRITICAL RISK
Bill Lumley discusses emerging risks that
could pose the biggest threat to a stable
reinsurance market in Bermuda.
Recent benign catastrophe years have allowed the reinsurance sector to regroup and the wider
insurance industry to take stock. There are now arguably a handful of key emerging risks that
pose potentially seismic threats to the market, principally comprising avian flu, terrorism and
climate change.
One of the defining characteristics of Bermuda reinsurers is resilience when it comes to
confronting any theoretical major loss. Patrick Gallagher, a director of Aon Capital Markets,
says easier access to capital is one advantage Bermuda has over its European counterparts. “With
something like a 9/11-type attack or the 2004-2005 storm season, the special thing about Bermuda
is that it is a magnet for capital to respond to these large events, yet it is still able to provide cover
for its clients after they have occurred,” he says.
Bermuda Re/insurance . February 2008 9
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64