Bermuda insurers report record-high certainty rate for insurance contracts

The 15 participating members of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) are reporting a record-high contract certainty rate for insurance contracts at 99.0%, with year-end 2013 results also strong for reinsurance contracts at 97.7%.

The six-year average contract certainty results – since monitoring of contract certainty results began at the 2008 renewal period – is 96.1% for insurance and 95.7% for reinsurance, notes a statement issued Wednesday by ABIR.

The target is 90% compliance against the ABIR Contract Certainty Code of Practice, which defines contract certainty as “achieved by the full and final agreement of all terms and conditions between the (re)insurer and (re)insured at the time of binding,” notes ABIR. “The final committed capacity must be clearly identified,” the statement adds.

“We have witnessed high levels of contract certainty compliance since implementing voluntary guidelines in 2008,” Leila Madeiros, senior vice president and deputy director of ABIR, says in the statement.

“This demonstrates the ongoing commitment of ABIR’s global insurers and reinsurers to high standards and places the Bermuda market at the forefront of global contract certainty practice,” Madeiros adds.