Reinsurance Broker of the Year (revenues of more than $1bn) winner: Guy Carpenter

Reigning supreme with a score of 145, Guy Carpenter was closely followed by last year’s winner Aon Benfield with a score of 140. Willis Re took third place with 120 points.

Highly rated throughout the survey, Guy Carpenter received high scores in all three categories. Gaining two wins in the innovation and client responsiveness categories and second place for expertise and market knowledge, the broker will feel it deserved this title.

Earlier this year, Guy Carpenter made several changes to its senior leadership team including appointing a new CEO of Continental Europe, Massimo Reina. He succeeded Peter Stubbings, who took up the position of chairman of the firm’s Bermuda operations. At the same time, Tony Fox was appointed head of the Bermuda office and promoted to the position of Bermuda CEO.

A number of respondents praised the broker and commented on their experience of working with Guy Carpenter. One said: “They have an excellent understanding of reinsurance market dynamics”, while another added that the broker is “cooperative and active”.

“They have an excellent understanding of reinsurance market dynamics.”

The broker received masses of praise on its innovativeness and ability to think outside the box. “They are very proactive on tougher coverages,” said one respondent, while another added that the broker was always on the lookout for new ideas and had no problem executing them.

Its broad knowledge of the market and seeming “ability to bend the market to their way of thinking” were also cited as reasons for nominations throughout the survey.

Aon Benfield, Aon’s reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor, took top spot in the expertise and market knowledge category. Closely following Guy Carpenter in the other two categories, the broker finished with a very impressive score.

The broker was applauded frequently on its market share and reach with its market intelligence being “second to none”. Its market studies and analytics received numerous positive comments. One respondent said: “Aon Benfield has the perfect knowledge and experience from which innovations flow.”

Staff at Aon Benfield were frequently commended throughout the survey for being experienced and leaders in the industry.

Earlier this year Aon Benfield appointed Nick Ambriano as head of its US casualty facultative team and Ferhan Ozay as CEO of its Turkish team, based in Istanbul.

Willis Re also received many positive comments throughout the survey, being consistently praised for its experience and proactive approach.

“Willis Re is exceptionally thorough in its approach,” said one respondent, while another added that the broker “can deliver and is strong in deal execution”.

The broker was commended on its willingness to accommodate clients, believing in its clients’ messages and communicating as such.

Applauded on its innovation, in May this year, Willis brokered $55 million reinsurance capacity for the first African catastrophe insurance pool from the international weather risk markets.

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.