26 September 2016Actuarial & underwriting

Guernsey is a ‘significant player’ in the international insurance industry


Guernsey is as a ‘significant player in the international insurance community’, according to Guernsey Finance chief executive officer Dominic Wheatley, speaking at the Guernsey Insurance Forum.

The event, titled ‘Future stars – where next for the re/insurance market?’, was hosted by Guernsey Finance in London and attracted an audience of more than 150 people. It was moderated by ITV News presenter Alastair Stewart.

“As a former insurance practitioner myself I am excited to see the insurance industry in such vibrant mood. This is an important sector in Guernsey’s finance industry, a sector of world leading quality and with a history of innovation,” Wheatley said.

“The Guernsey Insurance Forum has demonstrated how the global insurance market is changing, through evolution in some areas and transformation in others, and how the Guernsey industry is responding to these demands and opportunities with intelligence and energy and playing a key role in the innovation required.

“In particular, the growth of our insurance-linked securities (ILS) business and growing significance in the collateralised reinsurance space is adding to Guernsey’s reputation as the world leader for generating strategic value out of captive insurance and in other niche insurance markets. To see all areas of our industry in such robust form demonstrates not only its quality and substance but also emphasises that Guernsey is a player of significance in the international insurance community.”

Carlos Wong-Fupuy, a senior director at A.M. Best, was the event’s keynote speaker. As a member of the Group’s credit rating policy committee he is responsible for developing and updating the methodology, policies and procedures on which the agency’s ratings are based.

Wong-Fupuy was followed by two panel sessions; the first of which focused on structural innovation in the market, while the second considered market developments, particularly in the area of reinsurance, as well as the main drivers of innovation.