Facing unprecedented pressures politically, financially and environmentally, the reinsurance industry has had to adapt, and create a resiliency needed for today’s world.

The PwC Insurance Summit was told that geopolitics, weather extremes, social and economic inflation, and rapidly advancing technology has created an environment for insurers and reinsurers that has never been so complex.

At the summit, presented with the Financial Times, and attended by nearly 300 industry professionals from more than 50 different reinsurers and other organisations, Arthur Wightman, PwC Bermuda territory and insurance leader, said it all presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive innovation and growth.

It will, he said, be about how the industry responds to today’s problems as a decisive test of purpose and commercial relevance.

He added: “Bermuda, which impressively makes up 36 per cent of the global reinsurance market, and is the largest supplier of catastrophe reinsurance to US insurers, has a central role to play.”

Eric Andersen, president of Aon, gave a keynote interview on the state of the industry in 2023 and beyond, including what steps the industry is taking to build resilience in the face of multiple global threats.

In the opening leaders’ session, Orla Gregory, president, Enstar, and Kevin J. O'Donnell, president and CEO, RenaissanceRe, took part in a session on the global “trilemma” — looking at how CEOs are navigating geopolitics, rising rates and economic uncertainty.

Moderated by FT insurance correspondent Ian Smith, the session heard how Bermuda remains a highly competitive jurisdiction for reinsurance and a centre for idea and solution generation in the industry.

According to PwC’s 2023 Reinsurance Banana Skins Survey, climate change is the industry’s No 1 risk once again as reinsurers bear the brunt of the cost of catastrophe claims from an ever-increasing number of extreme-weather events.

“As these losses spiral upwards, our survey highlights the growing concerns that some areas and types of business could become uninsurable,” Mr Wightman said.

“The other big risks at the top of the boardroom agenda centre on cyber, technology, talent and regulation.

“As the world continues to change at a relentless pace, the risks facing organisations, people — and the planet — will only continue to rise. The challenges to the industry come at a time when the protection gap is widening at an accelerating pace — and could reach $1.86 trillion by 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region accounting for almost half of all uninsured risk,” according to PwC research.