Fitch: Bermuda Insurance and Insurance Market Thriving Amid Turmoil

Business Wire, March 3, 2008

NEW YORK -- Fitch Ratings stated in a Special Report today that Bermuda continues to develop as a thriving domicile for (re)insurance organizations, attributable to an attractive regulatory and tax environment, an accumulation of investment capital and underwriting talent, and innovative approaches to risk management. Fitch's report also delves into the agency's first discussion of a separate Rating Outlook for this market.

To coincide with the release of this Special Report, Fitch's Insurance Group will host a conference call on the Bermuda market on Wednesday, March 5 at 10am ET (1500 GMT). A separate press announcement with dial-in information will be released to market participants shortly.

In this Special Report, Fitch outlines the Bermuda market's key characteristics, identifies challenges expected to have an impact on the market in 2008, and discusses Fitch's 2008 financial projections for the market. The report also introduces Fitch's Bermuda market aggregate index, a group of Bermuda-based (re)insurers that are important components of the Bermuda (re)insurance market, and provides Fitch's first discussion of a separate Rating Outlook for the Bermuda market.

Though this market has enjoyed this tremendous operating success in the past two years, Bermuda (re)insurers will face significant pressure on profitability going forward as property/casualty insurance pricing continues to trend steadily downward.

Key near-term challenges facing the Bermuda market include managing the execution risk derived from expansion strategies adopted by some market participants, coping with the market's unique infrastructure challenges, and retaining financial and competitive advantages derived from the island's tax status.

The Special Report, 'Bermuda Market Overview,' is now available on the Fitch web site at www.fitchratings.com under Financial Institutions then Insurance then Special Reports.

Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site.