RenaissanceRe CEO and chairman James Stanard leads a list of 25 executives of Bermuda-based insurance companies who beneficially own more than $20 million worth of stock in their respective companies.

This was according to a recent report compiled and published by Internet newsletter InsideBermuda, which reported the shareholdings of 151 Bermuda executives in its latest edition, after a review of each company's proxy filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mr. Stanard is the leader in this list by a wide margin with his reported holding of 3.8 million shares in RenaissanceRe - a reinsurer set up to respond to a dire need for property catastrophe reinsurance after the destruction left by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 - worth some $202.7 million.

But second place goes to the head of one of the Island's newer companies, with AXIS Capital chairman and CEO John Charman reportedly being the beneficial owner of 5.7 million shares worth more than $160 million.

InsideBermuda reported that Mr. Stanard's stake in his company had risen 8.78 percent when compared to the $186 million stake he had held in the company a year earlier.

The value of Mr. Stanard's shares now was also 26.5 per cent more than the $160 million that Mr. Charman held in AXIS Capital and more than double the $98.9 million of XL Capital shares beneficially owned by CEO Brian O'Hara.

The newsletter said: “Mr. Charman's massive shareholding valuation is all the more extraordinary considering that his firm, AXIS Capital, only began operations two and a half years ago.” InsideBermuda reported that AXIS was not the only company to have paid its officers and directors handsomely despite only a few years in business. As an example it said “the shares of Montpelier Re's Steven Gilbert and Anthony Taylor worth $83 million and $36 million, respectively, while Max Re's Robert Cooney beneficially owned shares with a market value of $34 million.” InsideBermuda's review looked at the value of the beneficial shareholdings of all directors and officers of Bermuda-registered, publicly-listed insurers and reinsurers, as disclosed in the most recent proxy statements filed with the SEC. The share prices used for InsideBermuda's calculations were taken from the filings and, in most cases, were current as of March or April although, in some cases, they were taken from December 31, 2003.

The newsletter reported that a total of 37 officers and directors beneficially owned shares worth at least $10 million each, compared with ‘just' 20 people in the InsideBermuda review a year before. RenaissanceRe had five officers and/or directors with shareholdings worth at least $25 million each - more than any other company reviewed. And XL Capital had seven officers and/or directors with shareholdings worth at least $10 million each.

InsideBermuda also reported that a former ACE executive held greater stock options than current management.

“Dominic Frederico may have lost out to Evan Greenberg in the race to succeed Brian Duperreault as CEO but he can take some comfort from the fact that his shareholding in the company has a market value of $34 million, nearly three times the value of Greenberg's $12.5 million,” the report said. The newsletter also reported in its previous month's newsletter on the remuneration of Bermuda-based insurance executives during 2003.

It found that the exercising of some stock options had made ACE Limited officers Donald Kramer (vice-chairman) and Brian Duperreault (chairman and until recently CEO) the “best compensated officers among Bermuda-based, publicly-traded insurers in 2003”.

InsideBermuda's seventh annual compensation review found that Mr. Kramer and Mr. Duperreault had packages of $27.5 million and $26.8 million, respectively, for the 12-month period.

Mr. Duperreault was reported as being paid a higher salary than any other Bermuda-based executive - $1.03 million - and bonus - $4 million - than anyone else, but the bulk of his compensation comprised stock option profits of $19 million. Meanwhile, Mr. Kramer's salary and bonus combined were said to be “a long way short of Mr. Duperreault's salary alone but he more than made up for it by taking profits of $25.77 million from exercising stock options”.

At year-end, Mr. Duperreault still had an additional $17 million of profits that he could have taken in 2003 from exercisable stock options but which he chose to defer, while Mr. Kramer had an extra $4.1 million.

RenaissanceRe Chairman and CEO James Stanard, who had topped all of InsideBermuda's previous six compensation reviews, reportedly fell to fifth position, with a package of $5.87 million. InsideBermuda said Mr. Stanard's package was “kept down by not realising any profits from exercising stock options, choosing to defer $16.1 million that he had available to him at year-end”. And next in command at RenaissanceRe, William Riker, finished above him in third position with a package worth $9.6 million, boosted by restricted stock awards valued at $6.3 million. ACE had four officers in the top ten, while the firm it is most often compared with, XL Capital, had none and only two in the top 16, compared with five the year before.

XL's president and CEO, Brian O'Hara, received a package worth $2.7 million, putting him at 15th place.