Future Claims Bermuda

The inaugural Future Claims Bermuda event, held on 3 November 2025 at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, brought together a broad cross-section of the island’s claims community – from experienced practitioners managing complex global losses, to students contemplating taking their first steps in the profession. Hosted by DOCOsoft and the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS), the event combined practical discussion, real-world insight, and networking, highlighting how skills, technology and collaboration will support the continued strength and resilience of claims in Bermuda’s globally important (re)insurance market. When a major loss occurs, it’s often Bermuda’s claims professionals who play a key role in the global response, coordinating expertise, capital and judgement under frequently intense pressure.

The Hon. Kim Wilkerson JP, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice opened the programme, emphasising the central role claims plays in maintaining the island’s reputation as a global hub for complex commercial and catastrophe insurance. She reflected on her own wide-ranging career in insurance, and encouraged students to view claims as a field that’s rich with opportunity and one that’s central to Bermuda’s global influence. For young people entering the world of claims, she said, ”The sky’s the limit”.

Her remarks set the tone for a day that highlighted the depth and breadth of expertise within Bermuda’s claims community and the contribution of the next generation preparing to enter the field.

The evolving role of the claims professional

The first panel, The Future of the Claims Professional, moderated by Duncan Card, Partner at Appleby, examined how technology, regulation and shifting risk profiles are reshaping claims work. Speakers included Ana Garcia Ocampo, Head of Reinsurance Claims at Convex Insurance, Tshaloni Best, AVP Claims at Ascot, Victoria Cunningham, Executive Director at BFIS, and our very own Aidan O’Neill, founder and CEO of DOCOsoft, who offered perspectives on future skills, nonlinear career paths and the opportunities available to those entering the market.

Several panellists reflected on how claims has historically been perceived as a reactive ‘back-office’ function, heavily weighted towards administration, and with limited visibility across the wider organisation. Ana Garcia Ocampo noted that this view overlooks the reality of what claims work entails: in effect, she said, claims is the service insurance companies sell. If something goes wrong, policyholders won’t remember the premium they paid, but they will always remember whether their claim was honoured, and how it was handled at a time of crisis.

Adding to the discussion, DOCOsoft founder and CEO Aidan O’Neill noted that claims has always been the part of insurance where trust is most visible. Historically seen as administrative work, it is increasingly recognised as a strategic discipline requiring careful judgement, communication skills and an ability to balance competing interests.

Building on this, the panellists highlighted a clear shift in how claims is seen, from a largely transactional function to a central hub in the insurance ecosystem. Claims teams increasingly sit at the intersection of data, underwriting, actuarial insight and client relationships, with a growing ability to identify trends, inform decision-making and protect organisational reputation.

As Aidan observed, technology is playing a large role in this shift. Rather than replacing human skills and expertise, technology is freeing people from repetitive administrative tasks and surfacing the information they need to resolve complex losses more quickly and more confidently.

Ana Garcia Ocampo and Victoria Cunningham both emphasised that the advent of new more powerful technology should be seen as an opportunity, rather than a threat. Automation allows claims professionals to focus more on questions of judgement, ethics, empathy and communication. These, they agreed, are the aspects of the role that add the greatest value and can least easily be replicated by technology.

The industry’s shift toward automation and data-driven insights is broadening career horizons, making claims a more attractive path than ever for young professionals with both technical and interpersonal strengths.

The crucial contribution of collaboration

The fireside chat on catastrophe claims brought these themes to life through real-world examples. Kierra Smith, Chief Financial Officer at Convex Insurance and Chris Lally, Managing Director at SubroSmart discussed aggregation strategies, subrogation approaches and the operational impact of increasingly frequent and severe weather-related events.

A timely illustration of Bermuda’s resilience was its response to Hurricane Melissa, which passed close to the island just before the event. Attendees praised the way insurers, reinsurers and service providers coordinated their response, noting that collaboration on the ground allowed normal business to resume rapidly. This shared sense of purpose is one of the market’s defining strengths and a key ingredient in its effectiveness in responding to major loss events.

Building trust through transparency and partnership

The third session, moderated by Chen Foley, Chief Claims Officer, Arcadian Risk Capital, explored how transparency and early communication between cedants and reinsurers can reduce disputes and improve outcomes. Speakers included Laura Pepper, Head of Claims Bermuda, at RenaissanceRe, Sarah Champion, VP at Chubb and Nekeisha Cameron, Counsel – Claims, Risk and Compliance at Ark Bermuda, who shared examples of how early involvement, clear contract interpretation and informal engagement can prevent unnecessary escalation.

Chen Foley, noted that “In the nine-year period from 2016 to 2024, our market had paid $1.1 trillion in losses and loss adjustment payments, and, of that, $700 billion was paid to US policyholders alone.” The conversation reinforced how much the Bermuda market benefits from close professional networks. The ability to speak openly, share information and resolve issues before they grow is a major contributor to the island’s reputation for efficiency and reliability in handling complex losses.

As Nekeisha Cameron noted, “The claims today are much more interconnected, much more data driven, and also much more susceptible to global influences.” A point, which chimed with Sarah Champion’s observation that “One of the most beneficial things I have found in Bermuda is just the collaboration across different companies. I have gained so much insight by just talking to my fellow claims handlers.”

Showcasing the next generation of claims professionals

A central focus of the event was the Future Leaders in Claims session hosted by BFIS. Students and early-career professionals heard first-hand accounts from young claims practitioners about their routes into the sector and the opportunities available.

Young claims professionals described how internships, mentorship and BFIS programmes helped them begin careers they had never previously considered. Their stories highlighted the variety of entry points into claims, from administrative roles to internships and cross-disciplinary academic backgrounds, and the need for analytical thinking, communication, and attention to detail.

BFIS Executive Director Victoria Cunningham emphasised the importance of partnerships that help Bermudian students gain access to the industry. “We’re grateful to DOCOsoft,” she said, “for helping to highlight the exciting career paths and emerging skills that will shape the future of our industry.” The presentation of DOCOsoft’s annual bursary, supporting one male and one female Bermudian student pursuing a claims career, underscored the shared commitment to developing the island’s talent pipeline.

Supporting a vibrant and connected claims community

Throughout the afternoon, Future Claims Bermuda demonstrated the value of giving the island’s claims community a dedicated forum to connect. While the agenda covered major industry themes like automation, catastrophe response, transparency, skills and professional development, many welcomed especially the opportunity it provided to share experiences and make new connections across organisations and generations.

As Aidan O’Neill commented, the event drew inspiration from the strong claims community DOCOsoft supports in London. This event aimed to help foster similar collaboration in Bermuda by creating a space where both experienced professionals and emerging talent can meet, exchange ideas and build lasting relationships.

A successful launch and a foundation for the future

By the time the networking reception concluded, Future Claims Bermuda had clearly delivered on its objectives. It brought together a diverse mix of participants, created meaningful dialogue, and helped elevate the profile of claims as a profession with a vital role to play in Bermuda’s ongoing success.

DOCOsoft was proud to help make the event possible and to be able to support BFIS in fostering the island’s talent and professional networks. As a leading provider of core claims systems in the London Market and around the world, DOCOsoft understands how much the industry depends on the expertise of claims professionals, and how important it is to nurture the next generation.

Future Claims Bermuda has laid strong foundations for continued collaboration and community-building. We look forward to seeing how the event evolves and how Bermuda’s claims community continues to grow in the years ahead.