RenaissanceRe

If insurers help save for a rainy day, RenaissanceRe Holdings builds an ark. Through its Renaissance Reinsurance subsidiary, the Bermuda-based firm indemnifies insurance companies around the globe against excess losses on natural catastrophes, paying insurance claims after they exceed a certain retained amount. Top Layer Re, a joint venture with State Farm, provides excess non-US property catastrophe reinsurance. Another RenaissanceRe venture, DaVinci Reinsurance, covers catastrophes and specialty risks such as terrorism. Subsidiary RenRe offered primary-property insurance in the US until the company sold it in early 2011 to QBE for about $275 million