Trevor Carvey, chief executive officer and director of Bermuda-domiciled Conduit Re, will be stepping down and retiring on April 11.

Parent company Conduit Holdings has confirmed that the move is due to a change in personal circumstances requiring his return to the United Kingdom from Bermuda.

Neil Eckert, executive chairman, will assume the responsibilities of interim CEO effective immediately, as the company looks for a replacement.

Mr Eckert said the board of directors was grateful to Mr Carvey for his dedication and contribution.

“He led the business through its start-up phase and significant premium growth, and we wish him well in the future,” Mr Eckert said. “Since its formation in 2020, Conduit Re has become a quality business with a sizeable and growing income stream. The balance sheet is strong, with ample capacity for further growth. We look forward to driving Conduit forward into the next phase of its development.”

Mr Carvey said it had been an honour to lead Conduit Re over the last four years.

“I am confident that the company is well-positioned for future success,” he said.

The firm’s remuneration committee has exercised its discretion and is following the standard process to treat Mr Carvey as a good leaver under the terms of its management incentive plan and deferred share bonus plan.

The details of his remuneration, including bonus and share plan treatment and severance terms, will align with the provisions of the plans, his service agreement and the directors’ remuneration policy approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting last May.

As well as the departure of Mr Carvey, Conduit has today reiterated that its previously announced undiscounted preliminary loss estimate for the California wildfires, across all divisions, remains at between $100 million to $140 million, net of reinsurance recoveries and reinstatement premiums.

However, the company has stated that it intends to enter into additional reinsurance purchases to protect itself from further earnings volatility through this financial year, specifically from secondary perils.

The reinsurer said: “The cost of the additional reinsurance cover, plus other adjustments we intend to make to the portfolio, will reduce our previous guidance of potential forecast return on equity for the year to between high single digits and low double digits. We believe securing the additional protection in a year with such a significant loss event so early in the year is a prudent measure. We maintain our cross-cycle mid-teens RoE guidance target.”