‘The Last Word’ at the 2025 Bermuda Risk Summit was delivered by the Bermuda-born industry icon Brian Duperreault (pictured) – who joined ABIR CEO John Huff to share insights into his five-decade re/insurance career. In his address, the former CEO of AIG, Chubb (then ACE), Marsh and Hamilton, and now executive chairman of Mereo Insurance Ltd and Mereo Advisors Ltd, highlighted his love for the Bermuda insurance market.
Duperreault underscored his confidence in its ability to navigate its shift into an income tax environment. Addressing what he believes Bermuda will be renowned for, he affirmed his hope that it will continue to be regarded as the risk capital of the world.
“I don’t think the tax is going to make that much of a difference,” he said, addressing the change in Bermuda’s taxation regime that saw the Bermuda Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 become law on December 27, 2023 – applying a 15% corporate income tax (CIT) to Bermuda businesses that are part of a multinational enterprise (MNE) groups with annual revenue of EUR 750 million or more beginning in 2025. “It has been a push by the G20 for a very long time to have minimum tax in Bermuda.
“And Bermuda brought the industry and the regulator together, hand-in-hand to work out how to do this in a very intelligent way. So, I think it’s going to be fine. I don’t think it’s really going to affect Bermuda, I don’t think it’s going to affect capital formation, the attraction of talent or the ability to manage [risk].”
His latest role with Mereo is not the first time Duperreault has re-emerged from retirement as he noted that, “there’s only so much golf you can play”. When he was approached by the Mereo founders, the story and concept of the business resonated with him and excited him, and made it a natural fit. As an insurance entity, it has an interesting structure, he said, as the management isn’t embedded in any of the capital that it deploys.
The business is formed of an A-minus rated Bermuda-based reinsurance company as well as several ILS funds and another specialty fund. “We’re managers of capital,” he said. “And I’ve always thought in a good insurance team, particularly the underwriters, their job is to match risk and capital. We have several capitals, so we believe that we can find almost any risk a home within the family of capitals that we're managing.”
Attendees at the Summit were also given access to a sneak preview of Duperreault’s upcoming biography, authored by Bermuda and communications stalwart Wendy Davis Johnson. “I hope it gives the people who read it some help in the formation of their own career and their own development,” he said. “After 50 years, you learn it the hard way, you make a lot of mistakes, and hopefully in there you’ll see what I’ve learned from them.”
Reflecting on his guiding principles after 50-plus years serving the market, he shared some of his key takeaways. First and foremost, he emphasized the importance of doing the right thing. If you do the right thing, you almost can’t go wrong, he said, but the right thing isn’t always obvious and sometimes the consequences of doing the right thing can be quite intimidating. “But I will emphasize this till I die - you have to do the right thing. It works out in the end.”
His second guiding principle centers on the critical importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. The ability to delegate effectively hinges on having good people around you, he said, and there’s great strength to be found in surrounding yourself with talented, capable people. He also advised on the importance of being open for the next challenge. “I never wrote down a five-year plan… But I was always open to the possibilities of what might come.”
Throughout his career, he has been willing to seize opportunities as and when they arrive, rather than clinging to the comfort of what he’d already achieved. CEOs do tend to love to cling to that job title, but he never felt that his job title defined him, which is what has always enabled him to step away and do something else. Be open to what’s next, he advised. “If I had clung to the ACE job, I never would have been in Marsh, or Hamilton, or returned to AIG. So. I say, be open, be prepared and seize the opportunity when it comes. Don't be afraid, take a chance.”
