VZCZCXRO1230
RR RUEHHT
DE RUEHHT #0032 0541918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231918Z FEB 10
FM AMCONSUL HAMILTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4020
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0969
RUEHHT/AMCONSUL HAMILTON 2198
UNCLAS HAMILTON 000032
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
EUR/CE (J. MARBURG AND D. PARADISE);
EUR/PPD (L. MCMANIS AND A. PIPKIN);
LONDON (R. HUBER AND R. ESCOBAR);
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON BD
SUBJECT: BERMUDA INSURERS REVERSE 2008 LOSSES WITH HUGE POFITS IN
2009
1. (U) The February 22 edition of the daily Royal Gazette
reported that 17 U.S.-listed property and casualty re/insurance
companies based on the Island reversed 2008 losses of just over
USD one billion with high profits of USD 11.7 billion in 2009.
The list of 17 did not include London-listed insurers or the 900
plus concerns in the captive insurance sector, which provide
self-insurance for their own companies. The companies achieved
their stellar earnings partly because of the rebound in the
global financial markets that had crashed in 2008, resulting in
higher returns on their large investment portfolios, and partly
because there were fewer catastrophes in 2009. In comparison,
2008 hurricanes Gustav and Ike generated USD 20 billion in
insurance claims. The 2009 profits should serve to bolster the
local economy as the insurance companies in Bermuda awarded
large bonuses, according to the daily. The paper predicted,
however, a return to smaller profits in 2010 as claims from
winter storms start coming in.
SHELTON