Talent War Heats Up For Property Underwriters

BermudaJOBS, which itself has grown from one employee to 11 in five years, works as an agent for client insurers. The firm can be engaged to fill "live vacancies," or clients can outsource their entire recruiting function. In addition to being able to tap a large database of jobseekers locally and overseas, the firm has a job board–BermudaJOBS.com–and overseas agents in Toronto, London and Dublin.

As for the rumor that some property underwriters are commanding seven-figure salaries, Ms. Rego said that's not the expectation, "but there are, obviously, very senior-level individuals that are making big bucks in Bermuda, and you can see bonuses themselves being $1 million."

Salaries for very seasoned underwriters would probably be near the $200,000 mark, but creative benefits and stock options widen the range of total compensation package figures, she said. As for catastrophe modelers, she noted, "you can command a lot more if you're Bermudian."

Joseph Taranto, chief executive officer of Everest Re Group, said the same holds true on the underwriting side. "If you're a property underwriter in Bermuda, you're in the right place at the right time," he said.

Robert Cooney, CEO of Max Re, whose firm started staffing up a property practice for the first time in late 2004, said salaries are "all over the place," depending on experience and the individuals themselves. For underwriters with an average of 15 years experience, he said salaries are north of $225,000, and talented modelers with five years experience probably get $100,000.

Layered on top of those salaries are incentive compensation plans that might include annual cash bonuses based on corporate and personal performance, and stock grants. "When you add it up, incentives…can be 100 percent of salaries."

While Mr. Taranto said his company has been able to retain its people, "it's much more difficult than it ever was" as start-ups bid compensation figures higher. "It just got infinitely crazier with the new companies coming in, and it's such a small island, with so few there to begin with….They're taking people from the [United] States and giving them many multiples of what they're currently making," he said, noting the multiples could be as much as five times.

In addition, those people have to move, pushing housing costs "through the roof," he said, noting that Bermuda companies are also stealing employees from one another.

Ms. Rego said employers differentiate themselves with creative benefits–housing allowances, stock options, gym memberships, flying individuals home if they're non-Bermudians, and paying for training and development. Plus, guaranteed minimum bonuses are higher than they were in prior years, she said, noting that a guaranteed minimum for a senior property underwriter could be 50 percent of salary.

However, while Ms. Rego agreed that Bermudians are making more than their counterparts in other areas of the world, "it's not by huge amounts," she said, noting the way of life in Bermuda and tax breaks are incentives for some.

In general, she said, from the employee perspective, "smart, switched-on Bermudians" with careers in the industry are motivated by growth opportunities. The best and brightest want to move up the corporate ladder more quickly. "They're with their companies at the moment, but they're just not getting training or having their interest sparked," she said.

Employers that are "happy to have them plod along" are losing them to prospective employers that promise to fast-track their careers, to let them sit in on underwriting meetings, or to send them to overseas offices. "That's intriguing for Bermudians, and that's why they jump ship."

Mr. Cooney believes his company attracts people because it is small, with about 70 Bermuda employees. "We have hired a number of former colleagues of mine," said Mr. Cooney, whose prior position was with XL. "A senior team can come here and have a big bottom-line impact. At a big company, they're one-in-10,000," he said, adding that "small is more fun, more collegial, more entrepreneurial" and less bureaucratic.

He said Max Re also uses a search firm, and that it successfully hired property underwriters from London and the United States recently.

At Validus Re, a recent start-up, Chief Underwriting Officer Conan Ward said staff is being built without the assistance of executive recruiters. "All the people we've hired I've known well and always had in the back of my mind that I'd like to work with someday," he said, noting that having been a participant in the Bermuda market may give him a bit of an edge. "If they haven't been in the market, they don't know people [and] have to work through a recruiter," making the process more challenging.

The hiring process "takes on its own momentum," becoming less difficult once you have a few people in place, he added. Bermuda is small, people know each other, and new hires are attracted to work with people they know who are already on board.

"Gone are the days when Bermuda companies wouldn't hire from each other," he said. For a company with a business plan that's property-catastrophe driven, "there's nowhere else to go. This is really where you find the largest talent pool."

Still, start-ups are facing situations where potential new hires are unable to jump ship immediately because of contractual obligations to prior employers. "After the catastrophes of 2005," noted Ms. Rego, "some employers were quick out of the gate [and] started to increase notice periods for individuals"–from one month to three. "That is extremely smart to do," she added, noting that it can make life tough for start-ups, which "need people yesterday."

For companies hiring non-Bermudians, the biggest hurdle is immigration, she said. All non-Bermudians require a work permit, and Bermuda employers must prove they've tried to have qualified Bermudians fill this role, she explained.

Help Wanted Ad Art:

Big Text: Help Wanted

Positions Available: Property-Cat Underwriters, Modeling Analysts

Location: Paradise (Bermuda)

Salary: You Name It

Bonus: Guaranteed