Patrick Thiele

AXIS Capital President and CEO John Charman has increased his lead as the Bermuda insurance executive with the most valuable portfolio of shares in his or her publicly-listed employer. Charman, 55, beneficially owned shares in AXIS Capital that had a market value of $221 million as of July 31, 2008, according to a share-ownership review of insurance executives by InsideBermuda.

Stock option profits of $9.8 million helped make Anthony Taylor the best compensated officer of a Bermuda-based, publicly-listed insurer in 2004.The Chairman, President and CEO of property and casualty reinsurer Montpelier Re received a total package worth $15.3 million during the 12-month period, propelling him into top spot in InsideBermuda's compensation review, compared with 31st position a year earlier.

Despite $25 billion of new capital, there currently exists "the greatest deficit of reinsurance capacity since 1992", according to Patrick Thiele, President and CEO of Bermuda-based PartnerRe.