Best Reinsurer for Ability to Pay Claims (GWP of less than $2bn) winner: Catlin Re

One respondent said that Catlin Re had “a ‘can do’ attitude” and was always happy to pay. They added that there had been serious investment in the claims team resources.

As a group, in 2013 Catlin strengthened its pre-tax profit by 27 percent and its net income by 29 percent during a strong year for the multiclass re/insurer, particularly in its international segment.

Growth was particularly marked at Catlin’s non-London underwriting hubs, which contributed 48 percent of the company’s underwriting, up from 33 percent in 2013. This realignment resulted in a 16 percent increase in non-London premiums written.

Commenting on results, John Barton, chairman of Catlin Group, said: “I believe that Catlin has the strategy, the infrastructure and most importantly the people in place to continue to produce good results for shareholders.”

XL Re was praised by respondents for its strong balance sheet and willingness to pay claims in a prompt manner. The reassurance of the unit’s bigger parent was also mentioned by some respondents.

AXIS Re secured third place with a healthy score of 7.27 out of 10 and a number of positive comments. The reinsurer was praised for its ability to pay claims and timely manner.

“Catlin has the strategy, the infrastructure and most importantly the people in place to continue to produce good results.”

With a score of 7.25, QBE Re slipped into fourth place. The reinsurer was applauded on its financial strength and experience in the market. One respondent added that QBE Re USA was a “relatively new franchise which wants to establish itself as a good claims payer”.

QBE Re was closely followed by ACE Tempest Re, with a score of 7.21. The group, headquartered in Bermuda, oversees the reinsurance operations of the ACE Group. It was established in 1993 in response to the dislocation of the catastrophe reinsurance market following Hurricane Andrew.

As a global multiline reinsurance operation with offices in Bermuda, London, Montreal, Stamford, Sao Paulo and Zurich, the reinsurer was praised on its professionalism and its ability to pay.

The companies in the shortlists seen here were selected based on the first stage of the research, conducted via phone interviews and open online polls. Respondents were asked to name three companies they regard highly in this category. They were then asked to give details of why they had chosen these firms.

The shortlist for this category reflects the companies mentioned the most frequently.

The researchers then approached the market a second time and, using this shortlist presented in a random order, asked respondents to score each company out of ten based on how they perceive the firm based on the criteria of this category. It is the results of this part of the survey that are shown here.

More than 500 respondents took part in each part of the survey respectively.

The score shows the average score out of ten that each company received in stage two of the survey.

The shortlist was presented to respondents in a random order.