The massive catastrophe losses that wiped out tens of billions of dollars in re/insurance industry capital have not been enough to bring significant increases in rates, according to Aon Bermuda chief operating officer Joe Rego.Mr Rego spoke yesterday on an industry panel at the inaugural RIMS Bermuda Market Breakfast, organised by the Insurance Development Council (IDC).Premier Paula Cox gave the keynote address at the event, which was attended by around 100 people at the Risk and Insurance Management Society annual conference in Vancouver. The invitation-only breakfast event was held in the Crystal Ballroom at the Pan Pacific Hotel.Joining Mr Rego and Premier Cox on the discussion panel were Jill Husbands, head of office at Marsh IAS Management Services (Bermuda) Ltd; Patrick Tannock, president of XL Insurance Bermuda Ltd; Shelby Weldon, director of insurance licensing and authorisation at the Bermuda Monetary Authority.Afterwards in a telephone interview, he said: “As we see from the results reported by insurers for the first quarter, the catastrophe losses have had a significant impact on earnings.“There continues to be a high level of capital in the industry. Certainly we are seeing an effect on property rates in the areas affected by the catastrophes, but in general we are not seeing an overall hardening of the market.“If we see a severe windstorm later in the year, would that have an impact on the market? Absolutely.”There had been little general impact from the first-quarter losses on April 1 renewal business in the US, he said, although a higher demand for catastrophe coverage was emerging, especially with regard to earthquake risk.One of the major topics of discussion for the panel was what Bermuda needed to do to stay at the forefront of the insurance industry.Innovation in the form of the creation of new products to meet needs generated by areas of emerging risk was one area where Bermuda could play a significant role, he said. Such risks included cyber risk, operational risk and employment-related risk exposures.