Members of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) contributed almost $950 million to the Island's economy last year, according to the organisation's 2009 economic impact survey released yesterday.

ABIR represents Bermuda's international re/insurers, a group that wrote $61 billion in global gross written premium on a capital base of $84 billion last year.

The survey results showed the important economic contribution of the re/insurance sector to the country, but also reflected a slight decline of ABIR company employment on the Island over the past two years.

"ABIR's members provide an enormous economic benefit to Bermuda," said Patrick Thiele, ABIR board chairman and CEO of Partner Re Ltd.

"We employ collectively 1,757 people in Bermuda of which 1,153 are Bermudians - representing roughly 66 percent of our workforce here."

Bermudian employees include citizens, those married to citizens and those with permanent residency certificates, all non-work permit employees.

Mr. Thiele continued: "The average compensation for ABIR member Bermudian non-work permit employees was $178,000 in 2009; while the median was $113,000 (meaning that of the 1,153 Bermudian employees, half had compensation higher than this number and half had compensation lower than this number).

"These are good paying jobs, many of which come with significant responsibilities, with a variety of skill sets represented.

"The results also show the resilience of our member companies in the midst of a global recession. We believe that Bermuda's economy has benefited from the stability that these companies provide to the local economy, despite the rocky road we have all recently travelled."

According to the survey results, ABIR members' 2009 economic contribution to Bermuda included:

l $700 million in aggregate compensation to employees based in Bermuda.

• $125 million in payments on construction, real estate, housing, rentals or leases.

• $82 million paid to Bermuda-based third party business consulting providers.

• $25 million in travel and entertainment payments.

• $10 million in contributions to Bermuda-based charities.

ABIR has conducted its economic impact survey over the past five years, during which its membership has ranged between 16 and 23 companies. The organisation's members employ about 31,000 staff globally.

ABIR president Brad Kading said: "2007 was the peak year for ABIR employment in Bermuda.

"Employment has slightly declined over the past two years, though the percentage of our Bermudian employees has increased."

Mr. Thiele added: "Challenges to the international insurance sector in Bermuda revolve around the need to be competitive with other re/insurance centres across the globe, particularly as regards human capital.

"It is critical that we attract and retain high quality re/insurance professionals in Bermuda and that the costs of those employees are not out of line with other jurisdictions. We want to work with policy makers to make that a reality."