ABIR Elects Officers for 2021 – 2022
Arch Capital Group Ltd. CEO Marc Grandisson begins term as ABIR Chair 

Hamilton, Bermuda (January 6, 2021) – The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) today announced its biennial election of officers for 2021-2022.

New ABIR officers elected to Bermuda’s leading international insurers and reinsurers industry association are: Chair Marc Grandisson, CEO of Arch Capital Group Ltd; Deputy Chair Pina Albo, CEO of Hamilton Insurance Group, Ltd. and Second Deputy Chair Christopher Schaper, CEO of AIG Re. Past ABIR Chairs Albert Benchimol, President and CEO of Axis Capital; Kevin O’Donnell, President & CEO of RenaissanceRe Holdings and Stephen Catlin, Chairman and CEO of Convex also serve as ABIR officers.

‘I’m energized to advance ABIR’s international mission and look forward to working with my fellow ABIR member companies to promote the Bermuda re/insurance market’s interests around the world,” Grandisson said. “I’d like to thank past ABIR Chairs for their tremendous service in the public policy, education and advocacy for the Bermuda market. Bermuda is well positioned for the upcoming market opportunities around the world and ABIR will continue to advocate for open, well-regulated competitive insurance markets globally.”

Marc Grandisson, who began his two-year ABIR Chair term January 1, was promoted to Arch Chief Executive Officer in March 2018. Grandisson joined Arch Reinsurance Ltd. in October 2001 as Chief Actuary and subsequently held various leadership roles throughout the organization including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arch Worldwide Reinsurance Group from 2005 to 2015, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Arch Worldwide Mortgage Group from February 2014 to December 2015. Prior to joining Arch, Grandisson held various positions with the Berkshire Hathaway Group, F&G Re, Inc. and Tillinghast/Towers Perrin. He holds a B.Sc. in Actuarial Science from Université Laval in Canada and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Pina Albo joined Hamilton as Chief Executive Officer in January 2018 and is the first female CEO to be elected an ABIR officer. Albo began her career as a lawyer in Toronto, Canada. After practicing in real estate, corporate finance and M&A, she joined Munich Re as a claims expert. During her 25-year career at Munich Re, she held increasingly senior positions including President, Reinsurance at Munich Re America and member of the Group Executive Committee of Munich Re. Albo has been a member of many industry boards including the Board of the Insurance Information Institute, the Board of the Reinsurance Association of America, and the National Board of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.

Albo holds a Maîtrise en Droit, International and European Community Law, from L’Université d’Aix-Marseille III, Aix-en-Provence, France; a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Canada; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Languages from the University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has been recognized for her contributions to the insurance industry and has received numerous awards including the Association of Professional Insurance Women’s “Woman of the Year” (2011). She was designated a “Top Influencer” in Insurance Business America’s List of “Hot 100” (2014) and placed on Intelligent Insurer’s list of ‘Top 100 Women in Re/insurance” (2014 and 2015).

Chris Schaper is the group CEO for AIG RE, the global reinsurance business of American International Group (AIG), which brings together the organizations of Validus Re, Alphacat and Talbot Treaty under one entity. Schaper joined AIG in 2019 and has over 30 years of re/insurance industry experience serving in both executive leadership and board roles during his career. Schaper joined AIG from Marsh & McLennan Companies, where he was CEO of Victor Insurance Holdings, Marsh’s global managing general agent business. Schaper joined Marsh in 2016 and was a member of the Marsh Operating Committee. Prior to that, Schaper served as President of Montpelier Re Ltd. and Underwriting Chairman of Blue Capital, Montpelier’s capital markets entity and held several leadership positions at Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., including Chief Underwriting Officer and Head of Reinsurance Schaper holds MS and MBA degrees from Johns Hopkins University and is a member of the board on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business.

ABIR members wrote USD$109 billion in gross written premium (CY2019) and make up about 36% of the global reinsurance market based on property/casualty net premiums earned, keeping insurance premiums affordable and accessible for consumers around the world. ABIR members alone supply nearly half of capacity for Lloyds of London Syndicates (2019).

In Bermuda, ABIR members lead the local economy and contributed over $830 million to direct economic impact to the Island in 2019 including investments of over $131 million on local construction, real estate, housing and leasing.

“ABIR continues its rich history of international leadership in re/insurance markets with the election of these global leaders,” said John M. Huff, President and CEO of ABIR. “The Bermuda market is critical to manage the risk challenges of the future and provide economic stability to international economies. Addressing increasing climate, cyber, terrorism, political, credit, retirement security, catastrophe and speciality risks is the Bermuda market value proposition.”

ABIR member companies include Aeolus, AIG, Arch, Ariel Re, Argo Group, Ascot, Aspen, Assured Guaranty, Awbury, AXIS, Chubb, Convex, Fidelis, Fortitude Re, Hamilton, Hannover Re, Hiscox, Lancashire, MS Amlin, PartnerRe, Qatar Re, RenaissanceRe, Sirius, Third Point Re, Validus Re, and Watford Re. Broker advisory cabinet members include: Guy Carpenter/Marsh and Willis Towers Watson.

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About ABIR: The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) represents Bermuda’s major property and casualty insurers and reinsurers doing business in 150 countries. Bermuda is an internationally recognized center of global expertise on underwriting for catastrophe, climate risk, mortgage and cyber-risk transfer products along with other specialty insurance and reinsurance. For more information, please visit: www.abir.bm. Follow us on Twitter @ABIR_Bermuda.