'25 recap: COB RMI students visit Bermuda

Six students and one faculty member from the Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) concentration in the College of Business traveled to Bermuda to study Property Reinsurance January 18-22, 2025.

Reinsurance is a specialty form of insurance purchased by insurers, essentially insurance for the insurer. Its purpose is to spread the risk of a large loss over one or more insurers, thus stabilizing the insurer’s earnings and lessening its exposure to risk. Catastrophic loss, such as the recent Los Angeles wildfires or East Coast Hurricanes, often run into billions of dollars, and reinsurance protects the surplus and solvency of the primary insurance carriers. For example, reinsurance paid for more than 60% of the losses from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005.

The students, McKayla Knauss, Sara Scarborough, Ryan Carasiti, Chandler Walton, Aston Whaley, Jake Phlippeau and faculty member Kurt Fickling arrived in Bermuda Saturday evening, toured the Island with a guide the following day to learn the history and culture of Bermuda, then worked with five different reinsurance companies and their underwriters Monday and Tuesday, returning to Greenville on Wednesday, January 22.

While working with the underwriters, the student’s learned reinsurance enhances the objective of insurance to spread risk so that no single entity assumes a financial burden beyond its ability to pay. Catastrophes were important contributors to the creation of reinsurance. As we have seen in recent years, major disasters are significant catalysts for developing new or enhanced risk-sharing approaches by the private and public sectors. Today, the reinsurance industry is an intricate and resilient worldwide patchwork of companies, underwriting managers, and intermediaries. Our students are very fortunate to have this experience, and thanks to the North Carolina Surplus Lines Association for providing the COB RMI students with this opportunity.

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• Academic
• Risk Management & Insurance