By Isha Marathe

April 9 - (The Insurer) - Fairfax Financial's Brit Re has joined the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, with the company's head of office Jonathan Stephenson appointed to the trade body's board of directors.

ABIR, which has represented the public policy interests of Bermuda’s international reinsurers for 32 years, now has a record-high 34 member carriers, as well as three intermediaries in its Broker Advisory Cabinet.

Brit Re redomiciled to Bermuda in 2017 and holds a financial strength rating of A from AM Best. In 2024, Brit announced its strategic plan to significantly grow its property, casualty and specialty reinsurance footprint in Bermuda, and has since recruited talent to drive the expansion.

Stephenson joined Brit Re in September 2024 from Guy Carpenter, where he was managing director.

“We are pleased to welcome Brit Re, an active participant in the Bermuda (re)insurance market for more than a decade, as a new member of ABIR. With his deep industry insight and experience, Jonathan will be a valuable addition to the ABIR board," said Mark Cloutier, ABIR chair and executive chair of Aspen Insurance Group.

ABIR member companies made an aggregate direct economic contribution of more than $1 billion in 2023, ABIR’s 19th annual Economic Substance Survey showed. They are also Bermuda’s largest private-sector employer with 2,140 full-time employees on the island, of whom 1,441 are Bermudians, spouses of Bermudians, or permanent resident certificate holders.