Singapore is a city built on trade, so it is entirely appropriate that it finds itself as one of the P&C industry's acknowledged global (re)insurance hubs.
But the evolution is nonetheless impressive. While many in the P&C industry struggle to expand, Singapore's offshore business has enjoyed compounded annual growth of 14.3 percent in gross written premiums (GWP) for the past five years.
In 2001, Singapore's offshore GWP was S$2bn, in 2008 almost S$4bn and in 2012 it was touching S$7bn. (Re)insurance business from Asia-Pacific - and around the world - is increasingly finding its way to Singapore.
Other statistics are equally impressive. Five of the 13 International Group of P&I Clubs have a presence in Singapore, Lloyd's Asia now has 21 syndicates trading on its Singapore platform and business written through it has more than doubled between 2008 and 2012. Almost all international insurers, reinsurers and brokers now have an established presence in the country.
There are many factors underpinning this impressive development. The rise of the Asian economies is inevitably fuelling growth in the region's insurance markets. A Swiss Re Sigma report in late 2011 found that the Asian insurance sector had compounded growth of 18 percent between 2001 and 2010 - the highest in the world - because of the astonishing expansion in the region's economies.
Singapore's political stability, rule of law and excellent transport links are all helpful, while the city's geographical and historical position as a regional trade and shipping port (one of the five busiest in the world) are also important. Respected regulation and a friendly tax regime are clearly very useful, as it its quality of life. Little wonder then, that the World Economic Forum ranks Singapore as the second most competitive global economy.
But delegates gathering at SIRC this week will be very aware that while all of these factors have helped get Singapore's insurance industry to where it is today, they are not necessarily sufficient to guarantee the same level of growth for the next 10 years.
This is no fault of the region, which has given the industry a lesson on how to attract international business. But throughout the global (re)insurance industry storm clouds are gathering and Singapore is no more immune to them than other wholesale hubs such as Bermuda, London, Miami and Zurich.
First, the big, global customers of the reinsurance industry appear to be losing enthusiasm for the product. As recent issues of The Insurance Insider have highlighted, heavyweights such as AIG, Allianz, Liberty Mutual and Travelers have started slicing and dicing their risk in ways that would have been impossible only a few years ago.
It inevitably means less premium flowing upwards and it is the responsibility of all reinsurers - wherever they may be - to promote the virtues of reinsurance as a vital form of capital (and earnings) management. Then there is the continuing threat of competition from cat bonds and the alternative reinsurance markets.
As we reveal on page 20, the impact of ILS in Asia-Pac has been relative modest to date - certainly when compared to the circa 15 percent market share it has carved for itself out of the high-margin US property cat market. But Asian reinsurers should not be complacent. Both by class and geography, the ILS sector is on the march.
And a third storm cloud is provided by the rise of the broker following-form facilities - such as Aon's Berkshire Hathaway Lloyd's "Sidecar" and Willis' Global 360. They will inevitably add growing price pressures at a time when capacity is already abundant.
Singapore is very much a grown-up member of the reinsurance industry. It has to confront these challenges, just as its competitors do. Perhaps answers will begin to flow over the next few days as delegates plot the next 10 years in the market's development.
Good luck - we trust you find SIRC a rewarding and informative event...
Mark Geoghegan
Editor, The Insurance Insider
Please click here to view to SIRC Newsletter 2013.