Reinsurance Broker of the Year (revenues of less than $1bn) winner: JLT Towers Re

BMS followed closely, with a score of 120. TigerRisk Partners and Matrix Brokers were next in line, each with a score of 90.

“There is a sense that they really want the work and truly care about their clients,” said one respondent of JLT Towers Re. Another added: “The team always attempt to mediate wherever possible on complex technical issues.”

A number of respondents praised the broker’s “global expertise” with a “local approach”.

Further praise focused on the results of the merger in 2013, which saw the combination of Towers Watson’s reinsurance broking business and JLT Re. One respondent said this meant the broker was “positioned to succeed”, while another added the firm had achieved “strong growth” as a result of the deal.

It’s been a good year for the broker as it continues to go from strength to strength and it’s no wonder that the team is highly rated.

“There is a sense that they really want the work and truly care about their clients.”

In August, Elizabeth Kernan, formerly the principal of ReSource Re, an Integro company, joined JLT Towers Re as senior vice president in San Francisco. This came on the back of a number of new hires. Embry Nichols of Willis North America joined the firm as vice president of JLT Towers public entity practice, Steve Dimaria of Aon Benfield Canada joined as senior vice president with responsibility for Canadian agriculture and David Flandro of Guy Carpenter joined as global head of strategic advisory.

In JLT’s results for the first half of 2014, the group said: “This is a business with an exciting long-term growth opportunity. There is strong client demand for a differentiated broker that can provide real choice and innovation. We now have the scale, capabilities and client access to win increasing market share and we are committed to making significant investments in our reinsurance businesses around the world, particularly in the US, now and into the future.”

Broker BMS, now part of Minova Insurance Group, received a lot of praise on its customer service and client focus. BMS now comprises a balanced portfolio of business with combined revenues of $93 million, placing more than $1 billion premium annually into world reinsurance markets.

It was highly commended on its relationships with a range of reinsurers and its experience within the market. In March, the group added automated storm-reporting capabilities to its catastrophe risk management system as it continues to innovate.

TigerRisk Partners was celebrated throughout the survey, and praised for its customer service, innovation and market knowledge. One respondent said: “TigerRisk is always trying to find new niches”, while another added: “They have the experience, knowledge and analytical tools to support their ideas”.

With the same score as TigerRisk, Matrix Brokers took joint third place. The leadership team, which includes Dimitris Tsesmetzoglou, CEO of Matrix, and Gerry Tighe, vice chairman and manager of the treaty department, were particularly praised.

Companies were awarded points for their positioning in the prior relevant categories in which they featured: 50 for first place, 45 for second place, 40 for third etc down to tenth place. Companies that performed well in more categories had the chance to gain more points than those that did not feature in all.