Having been hit hard by the wildfires in California this year and then explained that it would acquire more retrocession to protect its earnings from volatility due to secondary peril loss impacts, Conduit Re has stayed true to its word, purchasing catastrophe hedging for US and global secondary perils, as well as more aggregate retrocession.At the same time, Conduit Re, the pure-play Bermuda reinsurance company, has announced that Chairman Neil Eckert will become the full-time Chief Executive Officer of the company.In announcing first-quarter results this morning, Conduit Re has stuck to its original estimate for the California wildfires from January 2025 to generate a $100 million to $140 million ultimate loss for the group, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums.As we reported before, .

Protecting earnings seems to have been the key goal, with frequency coverage purchased by Conduit Re.The company disclosed today that it has secured additional retro reinsurance protection for both US and global secondary perils, as it looks to moderate the impact of smaller catastrophe and severe weather loss events.In addition, Conduit Re explained that it has also purchased increased aggregate retro coverage as well.

The reinsurance company said these are designed to complement its peak peril protection, and are seen as a way to “enhance resilience and reduce potential earnings volatility.” It’s not clear what sources the retrocession was purchased from, whether traditional or collateralized forms of retrocession, possibly from ILS or third-party capital players.But the market for aggregate coverage has been open in the collateralized and ILS world, so there’s a strong chance at least some participation in these new covers came from sources backed by third-party capital we suspect.Conduit Re also reported growth, with gross premiums written for the first-quarter of 2025 up 15% year-on-year at $410.2 million for the period.

The company now forecasts a return-on-equity for 2025 of between high-single and low-double digits, which it said reflects the impacts of the California wildfires, the purchase of additional retrocession and also portfolio adjustments.Neil Eckert, one of the founders of Conduit, is now set to take on the full-time CEO role.The company had initiated a search for a permanent replacement to the now retired Trevor Carvey, seemingly concluding that Eckert is best positioned to take on the role.

Eckert had already been acting as Conduit’s interim Chief Executive Officer since late March 2025, when Carvey departed.He now leaves his Chairman role open, so Rebecca Shelley, Senior Independent Director, has been appointed as Non-Executive Chair on an interim basis while a search for a new Chair ensues.Rebecca Shelley, Interim Chair,said, “The Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil as permanent CEO of Conduit.

As a founder of Conduit, Neil has been deeply committed to Conduit since its inception.After conducting a search process, the Board believes that Neil’s wealth of experience, strong leadership and intimate knowledge of the business and team make him the right leader to guide Conduit through its next phase of growth and maturity.We are confident that Neil and the executive team will deliver on Conduit’s objectives to generate value for shareholders.” Neil Eckert, Chief Executive Officer, added, “I am delighted and honoured to accept the CEO role on a permanent basis and I look forward to continuing to work with the strong team at Conduit Re to deliver value to our investors, and to navigate through the inevitable challenges and opportunities that will come to Conduit Re in the years ahead.” As a result of Shelley moving to become Interim Chair, industry veteran Ken Randall becomes Senior Independent Director.

Commenting in the Conduit Re trading statement, new CEO Eckert said, “I am honoured to accept the role of CEO and look forward to continuing to work with the talented team at Conduit to deliver on our objectives.During the quarter we have continued to see attractively priced underwriting opportunities and as a result have driven growth across all our divisions, delivering a 15% increase in gross premiums written.Our growing, high quality investment portfolio has also performed well with a 2.1% return for the quarter.

“The experienced team at Conduit have effectively navigated one of the most challenging quarters for insured catastrophe losses in history, taking decisive action following the devastating California wildfires to enhance our resilience and reduce earnings volatility for the rest of 2025.Looking ahead, we continue to have confidence in our ability to deliver a target return on equity in the mid-teens across the insurance cycle.The Board’s decision to approve a share buyback programme further demonstrates its confidence in the value of Conduit’s franchise and our commitment to deliver shareholder value.”.

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