GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD. - FORM 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009

o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 001-33493

Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Cayman Islands	N/A
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

65 Market Street, Suite 1207, Camana Bay

P.O. Box 31110

Grand Cayman, KY1-1205

Cayman Islands

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 345-943-4573

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Class	Name of Exchange on Which Registered
Class A ordinary shares, $0.10 par value per share	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulations S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of ‘‘large accelerated filer,’’ ‘‘accelerated filer,’’ and ‘‘smaller reporting company’’ in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer x Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No x

The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2009 was $446,315,726 based on the closing price of the registrant’s Class A ordinary shares reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 30, 2009, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. Solely for the purpose of this calculation and for no other purpose, the non-affiliates of the registrant are assumed to be all shareholders of the registrant other than (i) directors of the registrant, (ii) executive officers of the registrant who are identified as ‘‘named executives’’ pursuant to Item 11 of this Form 10-K, (iii) any shareholder that beneficially owns 10% or more of the registrant’s common shares and (iv) any shareholder that has one or more of its affiliates on the registrant’s board of directors. Such exclusion is not intended, nor shall it be deemed, to be an admission that such persons are affiliates of the registrant.

As of February 1, 2010, there were 30,063,893 Class A ordinary shares outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the proxy statement for the registrant’s 2010 annual meeting of shareholders, to be filed subsequently with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, pursuant to Regulation 14A, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or Exchange Act, relating to the registrant’s annual general meeting of shareholders scheduled to be held on April 28, 2010 are incorporated by reference in Part III of this annual report on Form 10-K.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		Page
PART I			3
ITEM 1.	BUSINESS		4
ITEM 1A.	RISK FACTORS		16
ITEM 1B.	UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS		32
ITEM 2.	PROPERTIES		32
ITEM 3.	LEGAL PROCEEDINGS		32
ITEM 4.	SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS		32
PART II			33
ITEM 5.	MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES		33
ITEM 6.	SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA		34
ITEM 7.	MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS		36
ITEM 7A.	QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK		52
ITEM 8.	FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA		54
ITEM 9.	CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE		54
ITEM 9A.	CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES		54
ITEM 9B.	OTHER INFORMATION		55
PART III			56
ITEM 10.	DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE		56
ITEM 11.	EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION		56
ITEM 12.	SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS		56
ITEM 13.	CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE		56
ITEM 14.	PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES		56
PART IV			57
ITEM 15.	EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES		57

PART I

Special Note About Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this Form 10-K, other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are ‘‘forward-looking statements’’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘would,’’ ‘‘will be,’’ ‘‘will continue,’’ ‘‘will likely result,’’ and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. A detailed discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in the section entitled ‘‘Risk Factors’’ (refer to Part I, Item 1A) and include but are not limited to:

•

Our results will fluctuate from period to period and may not be indicative of our long-term prospects;

•

The property and casualty reinsurance market may be affected by cyclical trends;

•

Rating agencies may downgrade or withdraw our rating;

•

Loss of key executives could adversely impact our ability to implement our business strategy;

•

Currency fluctuations could result in exchange rate losses and negatively impact our business; and

•

We depend on DME Advisors, LP, or DME Advisors, to implement our investment strategy.

We caution that the foregoing list of important factors is not intended to be and is not exhaustive. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or individuals acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. If one or more risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from what we projected. Any forward-looking statement in this Form 10-K reflect our current view with respect to future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth, strategy and liquidity. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements which speak only to the dates on which they were made.

We intend to communicate events that we believe may have a material adverse impact on the Company's operations or financial position, including property and casualty catastrophic events and material losses in our investment portfolio, in a timely manner through a public announcement. Other than as required by the Exchange Act, we do not intend to make public announcements regarding events that we do not believe, based on management's estimates and current information, will have a material adverse impact to the Company's operations or financial position.

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ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this annual report on Form 10-K to ‘‘the Company,’’ ‘‘we,’’ ‘‘us,’’ ‘‘our’’ and similar expressions are references to Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. and its consolidated subsidiaries. Unless otherwise indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this annual report to entity names are as set forth in the following table:

Reference	Entity’s legal name
Greenlight Capital Re	Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd.
Greenlight Re	Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd.
Verdant	Verdant Holding Company, Ltd.

Company Overview

Greenlight Capital Re is a holding company that was incorporated in July 2004 under the laws of Cayman Islands. In August 2004, we raised gross proceeds of $212.2 million from private placements of Greenlight Capital Re’s Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, ("ordinary shares"). On May 24, 2007, Greenlight Capital Re raised proceeds of $208.3 million, net of underwriting fees, in an initial public offering of Class A ordinary shares, as well as an additional $50.0 million from a private placement of Class B ordinary shares.

The Company, through its operating subsidiary, Greenlight Re, is a Cayman Islands-based specialty property and casualty reinsurer with a reinsurance and investment strategy that we believe differentiates us from our competitors. Our goal is to build long-term shareholder value by selectively offering customized reinsurance solutions, in markets where capacity and alternatives are limited, that we believe will provide favorable long-term returns on equity. We aim to complement our underwriting results with a non-traditional investment approach in order to achieve higher rates of return over the long-term than reinsurance companies that employ more traditional, fixed-income investment strategies. We manage our investment portfolio according to a value-oriented philosophy, in which we take long positions in perceived undervalued securities and short positions in perceived overvalued securities.

Verdant Holding Company, Ltd (“Verdant”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd, is incorporated in the state of Delaware principally for the purpose of making strategic investments in a select group of property and casualty insurers and general agents in the U.S.

Description of Business

We manage our business on the basis of one operating segment; property and casualty reinsurance. In September 2008, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority granted approval for us to engage in long term business (e.g., life insurance, long term disability, long term care, etc.) in addition to our current property and casualty reinsurance business but to date we have not offered or written any long term products. We currently offer excess of loss and quota share products in the property and casualty market. Our underwriting operations are designed to capitalize on inefficiencies that we perceive exist in the traditional approach to underwriting. We believe that we conduct our business differently from traditional reinsurers in multiple ways, including:

•

we focus on offering customized reinsurance solutions to select customers at times and in markets where capacity and alternatives are limited rather than pursuing and participating in broadly available traditional property and casualty opportunities;

•

we aim to build a reinsurance portfolio of frequency and severity contracts with favorable ultimate economic results measured after all loss payments have been made rather than focusing on interim results when losses may be incurred but not yet reported or paid;

•

we seek to act as the lead underwriter on a majority of the contracts we underwrite in an effort to obtain greater influence in negotiating pricing, terms and conditions rather than focusing on taking a minority participation in contracts that have been negotiated and priced by another party;

•

we maintain a small staff of experienced generalist underwriters that are capable of underwriting many lines of property and casualty business rather than a large staff of underwriters, each with an individual, specific focus on certain lines of business;

•

we implement a ‘‘cradle to grave’’ service philosophy where the same individual underwrites and administers each reinsurance contract rather than separating underwriting and administrative duties among many employees; and

•

we compensate our management with a cash bonus structure largely dependent on our underwriting results over a multi-year period rather than on premium volume or underwriting results in any given financial accounting period.

Our investment strategy, like our reinsurance strategy, is designed to maximize returns over the long term while minimizing the risk of capital loss. Unlike the investment strategy of many of our competitors, which invest primarily in fixed-income securities either directly or through fixed-fee arrangements with one or more investment managers, our investment strategy is to invest in long and short positions primarily in publicly-traded equity and corporate debt instruments exclusively through a joint venture with a third-party investment advisor that is compensated with both a fixed annual fee based on assets under management and on the positive performance of our portfolio. DME Advisors, which makes investments on our behalf, is a value-oriented investment advisor that analyzes companies' available financial data, business strategies and prospects in an effort to identify undervalued and overvalued securities. DME Advisors is controlled by David Einhorn, the Chairman of our Board of Directors and the president of Greenlight Capital, Inc. DME Advisors has the contractual right to manage substantially all of our investable assets until December 31, 2010 and is required to follow our investment guidelines and to act in a manner that is fair and equitable in allocating investment opportunities to us. However, DME Advisors is not otherwise restricted with respect to the nature or timing of making investments for our account.

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We measure our success by long-term growth in book value per share, which we believe is the most comprehensive gauge of the performance of our business. Accordingly, our incentive compensation plans are designed to align employee and shareholder interests. Compensation under our cash bonus plan is largely dependent on the ultimate underwriting returns of our business measured over a multi-year period, rather than premium targets or estimated underwriting profitability for the year in which we initially underwrote the business.

We characterize the reinsurance risks we assume as frequency or severity and aim to balance the risks and opportunities of our underwriting activities by creating a diversified portfolio of both types of businesses.

Frequency business is characterized by contracts containing a potentially large number of smaller losses emanating from multiple events. Clients generally buy this protection to increase their own underwriting capacity and typically select a reinsurer based upon the reinsurer's financial strength and expertise. We expect the results of frequency business to be less volatile than those of severity business from period to period due to its greater predictability. We also expect that over time the profit margins and return on equity for our frequency business will be lower than those of our severity business.

Severity business is typically characterized by contracts with the potential for significant losses emanating from one event, or multiple events. Clients generally buy this protection to reduce volatility from their balance sheets and, accordingly, we expect the results of severity business to be volatile from period to period. However, over the long term, we also expect that our severity business will generate higher profit margins and return on equity than our frequency business.

While we intend to continue to diversify our portfolio, our allocation of risk will vary based on our perception of the opportunities available in each line of business. Moreover, our focus on certain lines will fluctuate based upon market conditions and we may only offer or underwrite a limited number of lines in any given period. We intend to continue:

•

targeting markets where capacity and alternatives are underserved or constrained;

•

seeking clients with appropriate expertise in their line of business;

•

employing strict underwriting discipline;

•

selecting reinsurance opportunities with favorable returns on equity over the life of the contract; and

•

strengthening and expanding relationships with existing clients.

The following table sets forth our gross premiums written by line of business for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007:

	2009				2008						2007
	($ in thousands)
Property
Commercial lines	$	26,113	10.1	%	$	13,591			8.4	%	$	17,532	13.8	%
Personal lines		34,434	13.3			(4,071	)	(1)	(2.5	)		41,291	32.5
Casualty
General liability		40,320	15.6			16,948			10.4			17,597	13.8
Motor liability		78,161	30.2			72,578			44.7			795	0.6
Professional liability		12	—			2,150			1.3			27,230	21.4
Specialty
Health		47,749	18.4			40,210			24.7			16,489	13.0
Medical malpractice		5,703	2.2			4,641			2.9			6,197	4.9
Workers’ compensation		26,326	10.2			16,348			10.1			—	—
	$	258,818	100.0	%	$	162,395			100.0	%	$	127,131	100.0	%

(1)	Represents our share of gross return premiums based on updated information received from client.

The following table sets forth our gross premiums written by the geographic area of the risk insured for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007:

	2009				2008				2007
	($ in thousands)
USA	$	233,058	90.0	%	$	142,604	87.8	%	$	79,647	62.6	%
Worldwide(1)		24,015	9.3			18,991	11.7			44,722	35.2
Europe		—	—			—	—			2,157	1.7
Caribbean		1,745	0.7			800	0.5			605	0.5
		258,818	100.0	%	$	162,395	100.0	%	$	127,131	100.0	%

(1)	“Worldwide” risk is comprised of individual policies that insure risks on a worldwide basis.

Additional information about our business is set forth in ‘‘Item 7 — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ and Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements included herein.

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Marketing and Distribution

A majority of our business is sourced through reinsurance brokers. Brokerage distribution channels provide us with access to an efficient, variable cost and global distribution system without the significant time and expense that would be incurred in creating a wholly-owned distribution network. We believe that our financial strength rating, unencumbered balance sheet and superior client service are essential for creating long-term relationships with clients and brokers.

We aim to build and strengthen long-term relationships with global reinsurance brokers and captive insurance companies located in the Cayman Islands. Our management team has significant relationships with most of the primary and specialty broker intermediaries in the reinsurance marketplace. We believe that by maintaining close relationships with brokers we will be able to continue to obtain access to a broad range of reinsurance clients and opportunities.

We focus on the quality and financial strength of any brokerage firm with which we do business. Brokers do not have the authority to bind us to any reinsurance contract. We review and approve all contract submissions in our corporate offices located in the Cayman Islands. We have entered into a service agreement with a specialist service provider. Under the agreement, the specialist provides administration and support in developing and maintaining relationships, reviewing and recommending programs and managing risks on certain specialty lines of business. The service provider does not have any authority to bind the Company to any reinsurance contracts.

Reinsurance brokers receive a brokerage commission that is usually a percentage of gross premiums written. We seek to become the first choice of brokers and clients by providing:

•

customized solutions that address the specific business needs of our clients;

•

rapid and substantive responses to proposal and pricing quote requests;

•

timely payment of claims;

•

financial security; and

•

clear indication of risks we will and will not underwrite.

The following table sets forth our gross premiums written by brokers for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007:

	2009						2008						2007
	($ in thousands)
Name of Broker
AON Benfield (1)	$	79,419			30.7	%	$	35,736			22.0	%	$	37,414	29.5	%
Cornerstone Re		62,346			24.1			25,552			15.7			—	—
Frontline Insurance Managers		11			—			(4,071	)	(2)	(2.5	)		41,291	32.5
Lainston International Mgmt		3,154			1.2			5,955			3.7			12,112	9.5
Marsh & McLennan Companies		9,397			3.6			9,910			6.1			1,958	1.5
Reinsurance Cooperative Associates, LLC		60,043			23.2			50,000			30.8			—	—
Reinsurance Risk Services		13,885			5.4			2,405			1.5			—	—
RIB Intermediaries		6,771			2.6			9,329			5.7			—	—
Risk & Insurance Consulting, Inc		(121	)	(2)	—			12,450			7.7			14,981	11.8
Towers Watson (3)		17,700			6.8			7,500			4.6			10,537	8.3
Other		6,213			2.4			7,629			4.7			8,838	6.9
Total	$	258,818			100.0	%	$	162,395			100.0	%	$	127,131	100.0	%

(1)	AON Ltd acquired Gallagher Re in February 2008 and merged with Benfield Group in December 2008. The historical gross premiums written include those originally sourced by Benfield and Gallagher Re.

(2)	Represents our share of gross return premiums based on updated information received from client.

(3)	Towers Perrin acquired Denis Clayton in 2002 and merged with Watson Wyatt in 2009. The historical gross premiums written include those originally sourced by Watson Wyatt and Denis Clayton.

We believe that by maintaining close relationships with brokers, we are able to obtain access to a range of potential clients that meet our criteria. We meet frequently in the Cayman Islands and elsewhere with brokers and senior representatives of clients and prospective clients. All contract submissions are approved in our executive offices in the Cayman Islands. Due to our dependence on brokers, we may assume a degree of credit risk. See ‘‘Risk Factors — The involvement of reinsurance brokers subjects us to their credit risk.’’

In addition, we continue to expect the large number of captive insurance companies located in the Cayman Islands to be a source of business for us. We aim to develop relationships with potential clients when we believe they have a need for reinsurance, based on our industry knowledge and market trends.

We believe that diversity in our sources of business helps reduce any potential adverse effects arising out of the termination of any one of our business relationships.

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Underwriting and Risk Management

We have established a senior team of generalist underwriters and actuaries to operate our reinsurance business. We believe that their experience, coupled with our approach to underwriting, allows us to deploy our capital in a variety of lines of business and to capitalize on opportunities that we believe offer favorable returns on equity over the long term. Our underwriters and actuaries have expertise in a number of lines of business and we also look to outside consultants on a fee-for-service basis to help us with niche areas of expertise when we deem it appropriate. We generally apply the following underwriting and risk management principles:

Economics of Results

Our primary goal is to build a reinsurance portfolio that has attractive economic results. We may underwrite a reinsurance contract that may not demonstrate immediate short-term accounting benefits if we believe it will provide a favorable return on equity over the life of the contract. In pricing our products, we assume investment returns that approximate the risk-free rate, which we review and adjust, if necessary, on an annual basis.

Team Approach

Each transaction typically is assigned to an underwriter and an actuary to evaluate underwriting, structuring and pricing. Prior to committing capital to any transaction, the evaluation team creates a deal analysis memorandum that highlights the key components of the proposed transaction and presents the proposed transaction to a senior group of staff, including underwriting, actuarial and finance. This group, including our Chief Underwriting Officer, must agree that the transaction meets or exceeds our return on equity requirements before we submit a firm proposal. Our Chief Underwriting Officer maintains the exclusive ultimate authority to bind contracts.

Actuarially Based Pricing

We have developed proprietary actuarial models and also use several commercially available tools to price our business. Our models not only consider conventional underwriting metrics, but also incorporate a component for risk aversion that places greater weight on scenarios that result in greater losses. The actuary working on the transaction must agree that the transaction is expected to meet or exceed our return on equity requirements before we commit capital. We price each transaction based on our view of the merits and structure of the transaction.

Act as Lead Underwriter

Typically, one reinsurer acts as the lead underwriter in negotiating principal policy terms and pricing of reinsurance contracts. We aim to act as that lead underwriter for the majority of the aggregate premiums that we underwrite. We believe that lead underwriting is an important factor in achieving long-term success, as lead underwriters typically have greater influence in negotiating pricing, terms and conditions. In addition, we believe that reinsurers that lead policies are generally solicited for a broader range of business and have greater access to attractive risks.

Alignment of Company and Client’s Interests

We seek to ensure each contract we underwrite aligns our interests with our client’s interests. Specifically, depending upon the opportunity we may seek to:

•

pay our clients a commission based upon a predetermined percentage of the profit we realize on the business, which we refer to as a profit commission;

•

provide that the client pays a predetermined amount of all losses before our reinsurance policy will respond to a loss, which we refer to as self insured retentions;

•

provide that the client pays a predetermined proportion of all losses above a predetermined amount, which we refer to as co-participation; and/or

•

charge the client a premium for reinstatement of the amount of reinsurance coverage to the full amount reduced as a result of a reinsurance loss payment, which we refer to as a reinstatement premium.

We believe that through profit commissions, self-insured retentions, co-participation, reinstatement premiums or other terms within the contract, our clients are provided with an incentive to manage our interests. We believe that aligning our interests with our client’s interests promotes accurate reporting of information, timely settling and management of claims and limits the potential for disputes.

Integrated Underwriting Operations

We have implemented a ‘‘cradle to grave’’ service philosophy where the same individual underwrites and administers each reinsurance contract. We believe this method enables us to best understand the risks and likelihood of loss for any particular contract and to provide superior client service.

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Detailed Contract Diligence

We are highly selective in the contracts we choose to underwrite and spend a significant amount of time with our clients and brokers to understand the risks and appropriately structure the contracts. We usually obtain significant amounts of data from our clients to conduct a thorough actuarial modeling analysis. As part of our pricing and underwriting process, we assess among other factors:

•

the client’s and industry historical loss data;

•

the expected duration for claims to fully develop;

•

the client’s pricing and underwriting strategies;

•

the geographic areas in which the client is doing business and its market share;

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the reputation and financial strength of the client;

•

the reputation and expertise of the broker;

•

the likelihood of establishing a long-term relationship with the client and the broker; and

•

reports provided by independent industry specialists.

Underwriting Authorities

We use actuarial models that we produce and apply our underwriting guidelines to analyze each reinsurance opportunity before we commit capital. The Underwriting Committee of our Board of Directors has set parameters for zonal and aggregate property catastrophic caps and limits for maximum loss potential under any individual contract. The Underwriting Committee may approve exceptions to the established limits. Our approach to risk control imposes an absolute loss limit on our natural catastrophic exposures rather than an estimate of probable maximum losses and we have established zonal and aggregate limits. We manage all non-catastrophic exposures and other risks by analyzing our maximum loss potential on a contract-by-contract basis. We believe that the maximum underwriting authorities, as set by our Underwriting Committee, will likely change over time, including as and when our capital base changes.

Retrocessional Coverage

We may from time to time purchase retrocessional coverage for one or more of the following reasons: to manage our overall exposure, to reduce our net liability on individual risks, to obtain additional underwriting capacity and to balance our underwriting portfolio. Additionally, retrocession can be used as a mechanism to share the risks and rewards of business written and therefore can be used as a tool to align our interests with those of our counter-parties.

The amount of retrocessional coverage that we purchase will vary based on numerous factors some of which include the inherent riskiness of the portfolio of business we write and the level of our capital base. Given our opportunistic approach to underwriting, which may change the composition and inherent riskiness of our underwriting portfolio on an annual basis, it is not possible to predict the level of retrocessional coverage that we will purchase in any given year. To date, our retrocessional coverage has been primarily used as a tool to align our interests with those of our counter-parties.

We intend to only purchase uncollateralized retrocessional coverage from a reinsurer with a minimum financial strength rating of ‘‘A− (Excellent)’’ from either A.M. Best Company, Inc., or “A.M. Best”, or an equivalent rating from a recognized rating service. For non-rated reinsurers, we monitor and obtain collateral in the form of cash, funds withheld, or letters of credit. As of December 31, 2009, the aggregate amount due from reinsurers from retrocessional coverages represents 5.3% of our gross outstanding loss reserves. As of December 31, 2009, all the reinsurers of our retrocessional coverage had either a financial strength rating from A.M. Best of ‘‘A− (Excellent)’’ or better, or we held cash collateral or letters of credit in excess of the estimated losses recoverable.

Capital Allocation

We allocate capital to each contract that we bind. Our capital allocation methodology uses the probability and magnitude of potential for economic loss. We allocate capital for the period from each contract’s inception until the risk is resolved. We have developed a proprietary return on equity capital allocation model to evaluate and price each reinsurance contract that we underwrite. We use different return on equity thresholds depending on the type and risk characteristics of the business we underwrite.

Claims Management

We have implemented a ‘‘cradle to grave’’ service philosophy where the same individual underwrites and administers each reinsurance contract.

Our claims management process begins upon receipt of claims submissions from our clients which the underwriter reviews for authorization prior to entry and settlement. We believe this ensures we pay claims consistently with the terms and conditions of each contract. Depending on the size of the claim payment, additional approvals for payment must be obtained from our executive officers, which may include our Chief Financial Officer.

Where necessary, we will conduct or contract for on-site audits, particularly for large accounts and for those whose performance differs from our expectations. Through these audits, we will evaluate ceding companies’ claims-handling practices, including the organization of their claims departments, their fact-finding and investigation techniques, their loss notifications, the adequacy of their reserves, their negotiation and settlement practices and their adherence to claims-handling guidelines.

We recognize that fair interpretation of our reinsurance agreements with our clients and timely payment of covered claims are valuable services to our clients.

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Reserves

Our reserving philosophy is to reserve to our best estimates of the actual results of the risks underwritten. Our actuaries and underwriters provide reserving estimates on a quarterly basis calculated to meet our estimated future obligations. We reserve on a transaction by transaction basis. We have engaged outside actuaries who review these estimates at least once a year. Due to the use of different assumptions, accounting treatment and loss experience, the amount we establish as reserves with respect to individual risks, transactions or classes of business may be greater or less than those established by clients or ceding companies. Reserves may also include unearned premiums, premium deposits, profit sharing earned but not yet paid, claims reported but not yet paid, claims incurred but not reported and claims in the process of settlement.

Reserves do not represent an exact calculation of liability. Rather, reserves represent our estimate of the expected cost of the ultimate settlement and administration of the claim. Although the methods for establishing reserves are well-tested, some of the major assumptions about anticipated loss emergence patterns are subject to unanticipated fluctuation. We base these estimates on our assessment of facts and circumstances then known, as well as estimates of future trends in claim severity and frequency, judicial theories of liability and other factors, including the actions of third parties, which are beyond our control.

Collateral Arrangements and Letter of Credit Facilities

We are not licensed or admitted as an insurer in any jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands. Many jurisdictions such as the United States do not permit clients to take credit for reinsurance on their statutory financial statements if such reinsurance is obtained from unlicensed or non-admitted insurers without appropriate collateral. As a result, we anticipate that all of our U.S. clients and a portion of our non-U.S. clients will require us to provide collateral for the contracts we bind with them. We expect this collateral to take the form of funds withheld, trust arrangements or letters of credit. As of December 31, 2009, we have letter of credit facilities with an aggregate maximum available amount of $475.0 million. As of December 31, 2009, we have issued letters of credit totaling $278.4 million to clients. The failure to maintain, replace or increase our letter of credit facilities on commercially acceptable terms may significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy. See ‘‘Risk Factors — Our failure to maintain sufficient letter of credit facilities or to increase our letter of credit capacity on commercially acceptable terms as we grow could significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy.’’

Competition

The reinsurance industry is highly competitive. We compete with major reinsurers, most of which are well established, have significant operating histories and strong financial strength ratings, and have developed long-standing client relationships.

Our competitors include ACE Limited, Everest Re, General Re Corporation, Hannover Re Group, Munich Reinsurance Company, PartnerRe Ltd., Swiss Reinsurance Company, and Transatlantic Reinsurance Company, which are dominant companies in our industry. Although we seek to provide coverage where capacity and alternatives are limited, we directly compete with these larger companies due to the breadth of their coverage across the property and casualty market in substantially all lines of business. We also compete with smaller companies and other niche reinsurers.

While we have a limited operating history, we believe that our approach to underwriting will allow us to be successful in underwriting transactions against more established competitors.

Ratings

We currently have an ‘‘A− (Excellent)’’ financial strength rating with a stable outlook from A.M. Best, which is the fourth highest of 15 ratings. We believe that a strong rating is an important factor in the marketing of reinsurance products to clients and brokers. This rating reflects the rating agency’s opinion of our financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations. It is not an evaluation directed toward the protection of investors or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold our Class A ordinary shares.

The failure to maintain a strong rating may significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy. See “Risk Factors – A downgrade or withdrawal of our A.M. Best rating would significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy successfully.”

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Regulations

Cayman Islands Insurance Regulation

Greenlight Re holds an Unrestricted Class B insurance license issued in accordance with the terms of the Insurance Law (as revised) of the Cayman Islands, or the Law, and is subject to regulation by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, or CIMA, in terms of the Law.

As the holder of an Unrestricted Class B insurance license, Greenlight Re is permitted to undertake insurance business from the Cayman Islands, but, except with the prior written approval of CIMA, may not engage in any Cayman Islands domestic business unless such business forms a minor part of the international risk of a policyholder whose main activities are in territories outside the Cayman Islands.

Greenlight Re is required to comply with the following principal requirements under the Law:

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the maintenance of a net worth (defined in the Law as the excess of assets, including any contingent or reserve fund secured to the satisfaction of CIMA, over liabilities other than liabilities to partners or shareholders) of at least 100,000 Cayman Islands dollars (which is equal to approximately US$120,000), subject to increase by CIMA depending on the type of business undertaken;

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to carry on its insurance business in accordance with the terms of the license application submitted to CIMA, to seek the prior approval of CIMA to any proposed change thereto, and annually to file a certificate of compliance with this requirement in the prescribed form signed by an independent auditor, or any other party approved by CIMA;

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to prepare annual accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, audited by an independent auditor approved by CIMA;

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to seek the prior approval of CIMA in respect of the appointment of directors and officers and to provide CIMA with information in connection therewith and notification of any changes thereto;

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to notify CIMA as soon as reasonably practicable of any change of control of Greenlight Re, the acquisition by any person or group of persons of shares representing more than 10% of Greenlight Re’s issued share capital or total voting rights;

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to maintain appropriate business records in the Cayman Islands; and

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to pay an annual license fee.

The Law requires that the holder of an Unrestricted Class B insurance license engage a licensed insurance manager operating in the Cayman Islands to provide insurance expertise and oversight, unless exempted by CIMA. Greenlight Re has been exempted from this requirement.

It is the duty of CIMA:

•

to maintain a general review of insurance practices in the Cayman Islands;

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to examine the affairs or business of any licensee or other person carrying on, or who has carried on, insurance business in order to ensure that the Law has been complied with and that and the licensee is in a sound financial position and is carrying on its business in a satisfactory manner;

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to examine and report on the annual returns delivered to CIMA in terms of the Law; and

•

to examine and make recommendations with respect to, among other things, proposals for the revocation of licenses and cases of suspected insolvency of licensed entities.

Where CIMA believes that a licensee is committing, or is about to commit or pursue, an act that is an unsafe or unsound business practice, CIMA may request that the licensee cease or refrain from committing the act or pursuing the offending course of conduct. Failures to comply with CIMA regulation may be punishable by a fine of up to 100,000 Cayman Islands dollars (which is equal to approximately US$120,000), and an additional 10,000 Cayman Islands dollars (which is approximately US$12,000) for every day after conviction that the breach continues.

Whenever CIMA believes that a licensee is or may become unable to meet its obligations as they fall due, is carrying on business in a manner likely to be detrimental to the public interest or to the interest of its creditors or policyholders, has contravened the terms of the Law, or has otherwise behaved in such a manner so as to cause CIMA to call into question the licensee’s fitness, CIMA may take one of a number of steps, including requiring the licensee to take steps to rectify the matter, suspending the license of the licensee, revoking the license, imposing conditions upon the license and amending or revoking any such condition, requiring the substitution of any director, manager or officer of the licensee, at the expense of the licensee, appointing a person to advise the licensee on the proper conduct of its affairs and to report to CIMA thereon, at the expense of the licensee, appointing a person to assume control of the licensee’s affairs or otherwise requiring such action to be taken by the licensee as CIMA considers necessary. We have not been subject to any such actions from CIMA to date.

Other Regulations in the Cayman Islands

As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we may not carry on business or trade locally in the Cayman Islands except in furtherance of our business outside the Cayman Islands and we are prohibited from soliciting the public of the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of our securities or debt. We are further required to file a return with the Registrar of Companies in January of each year and to pay an annual registration fee at that time.

The Cayman Islands has no exchange controls restricting dealings in currencies or securities.

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Overview of Investments

Our investment portfolio is managed by DME Advisors, a value-oriented investment advisor that analyzes companies' available financial data, business strategies and prospects in an effort to identify undervalued and overvalued securities. DME Advisors is controlled by David Einhorn, the Chairman of our Board of Directors and the president of Greenlight Capital, Inc. Prior to January 1, 2008, we operated pursuant to an investment agreement with DME Advisors. On January 1, 2008 we entered into an agreement, or the “advisory agreement”, wherein the Company and DME Advisors agreed to create a joint venture for the purposes of managing certain jointly held assets. The term of the advisory agreement is from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010 with automatic three-year renewals unless either Greenlight Re or DME Advisors terminates the agreement by giving 90 days notice prior to the end of the three year term. Concurrent with the execution of the advisory agreement, we terminated the investment agreement with DME Advisors.

Pursuant to the advisory agreement, DME Advisors has the exclusive right to manage our investments, subject to the investment guidelines adopted by our Board of Directors for so long as the agreement is in effect. DME Advisors receives two forms of compensation:

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a 1.5% annual management fee, regardless of the performance of our investment account, payable monthly based on the net asset value of our investment account, excluding assets, if any, held in trusts used to collateralize our reinsurance obligations, which we refer to as Regulation 114 Trusts; and

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performance compensation based on the appreciation in the value of our investment account equal to 20% of net profits calculated per annum, subject to a loss carry forward provision.

The loss carry forward provision allows DME Advisors to earn reduced incentive compensation of 10% on profits in any year subsequent to the year in which our investment account incurs a loss, until all the losses are recouped and an additional amount equal to 150% of the loss is earned. DME Advisors is not entitled to earn performance compensation in a year in which our investment portfolio incurs a loss. However, DME Advisors is entitled to earn reduced incentive compensation on subsequent years to the extent it generates profits for our investment portfolio in such years. For the year ended December 31, 2008, our portfolio reported a net investment loss of $126.1 million and as a result no performance compensation was paid to DME Advisors. In addition, the performance compensation for subsequent years will be reduced to 10% of net profits until all the investment losses have been recouped and an additional amount equal to 150% of the investment loss is earned. As of December 31, 2009, the loss carry forward balance was $94.3 million.

DME Advisors is required to follow our investment guidelines and act in a manner that it considers fair and equitable in allocating investment opportunities to us, but we do not otherwise impose any specific obligations or requirements concerning the allocation of time, effort or investment opportunities to us or any restrictions on the nature or timing of investments for our account and for DME Advisors’ own account or other accounts that DME Advisors or its affiliates may manage. In addition, DME Advisors can outsource to sub-advisors without our consent or approval. In the event that DME Advisors and any of its affiliates attempt to simultaneously invest in the same opportunity, the opportunity will be allocated pro rata as reasonably determined by DME Advisors and its affiliates. Affiliates of DME Advisors presently serve as general partner or investment advisor of Greenlight Capital, L.P., Greenlight Capital Qualified, L.P., Greenlight Capital Offshore, Ltd., Greenlight Capital Offshore Qualified, Ltd., Greenlight Masters, L.P., Greenlight Masters Qualified, L.P., Greenlight Masters Offshore, Ltd., Greenlight Masters Offshore I, Ltd., and Greenlight Masters Partners, which we collectively refer to as the Greenlight Funds.

We have agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to cause all of our current and future subsidiaries to enter into substantially similar advisory agreements, provided that any such agreement shall be terminable on the same date that the advisory agreement is terminable.

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We have agreed to release DME Advisors and its affiliates from, and to indemnify and hold them harmless against, any liability arising out of the advisory agreement, subject to certain exceptions. Furthermore, DME Advisors and its affiliates have agreed to indemnify us against any liability incurred in connection with certain actions.

We may terminate the advisory agreement prior to the expiration of its term only ‘‘for cause,’’ which the advisory agreement defines as:

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a material violation of applicable law relating to DME Advisors’ advisory business;

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DME Advisors' gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of its obligations under the advisory agreement;

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a material breach by DME Advisors of our investment guidelines that is not cured within a 15-day period; or

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a material breach by DME Advisors of its obligations to return and deliver assets as we may request.

Investment Strategy

DME Advisors implements a value-oriented investment strategy by taking long positions in perceived undervalued securities and short positions in perceived overvalued securities. DME Advisors aims to achieve high absolute rates of return while minimizing the risk of capital loss. DME Advisors attempts to determine the risk/return characteristics of potential investments by analyzing factors such as the risk that expected cash flows will not be obtained, the volatility of the cash flows, the leverage of the underlying business and the security's liquidity, among others.

Our Board of Directors conducts reviews of our investment portfolio activities and oversees our investment guidelines to meet our investment objectives. We believe, while less predictable than traditional fixed-income portfolios, our investment approach complements our reinsurance business and will achieve higher rates of return over the long term than reinsurance companies that invest predominantly in fixed-income securities. Our investment guidelines are designed to maintain adequate liquidity to fund our reinsurance operations and to protect against unexpected events.

DME Advisors, which is contractually obligated to adhere to our investment guidelines, makes investment decisions on our behalf, which include buying public or private corporate equities and current-pay debt instruments, selling securities short and investing in trade claims, debt instruments of distressed issuers, arbitrages, bank loan participations, derivatives (including options, warrants, swaps and futures), commodities, currencies, leases, break-ups, consolidations, reorganizations and limited partnerships.

Investment Guidelines

The investment guidelines adopted by our Board of Directors, which may be amended or modified from time to time take into account restrictions imposed on us by regulators, our liability mix, requirements to maintain an appropriate claims paying rating by ratings agencies and requirements of lenders. As of the date hereof, the investment guidelines currently state:

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Quality Investments: At least 80% of the assets in the investment portfolio are to be held in debt or equity securities (including swaps) of publicly-traded companies (or their subsidiaries) and governments of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development ("the OECD"), high income countries, cash, cash equivalents, and gold. Assets which are fair valued using unobservable inputs (Level 3 assets) are to be excluded from the 80% calculation above. No more than 10% of the assets in the investment portfolio will be held in private equity securities.

•

Concentration of Investments: Other than cash, cash equivalents and United States government obligations, no single investment in the investment portfolio may constitute more than 20% of the portfolio.

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Liquidity: Assets will be invested in such fashion that we have a reasonable expectation that we can meet any of our liabilities as they become due. We periodically review with the investment advisor the liquidity of the portfolio.

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Monitoring: We require our investment advisor to re-evaluate each position in the investment portfolio and to monitor changes in intrinsic value and trading value and provide monthly reports on the investment portfolio to us or as we may reasonably determine.

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Leverage: The investment portfolio may not employ greater than 5% indebtedness for borrowed money, including net margin balances, for extended time periods. The investment advisor may use, in the normal course of business, an aggregate of 20% net margin leverage for periods of less than 30 days.

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Investment Results

Composition

Our investment portfolio managed by DME Advisors contains investments in equity securities, debt instruments, commodities, unrestricted cash and funds held with brokers, derivatives, and securities sold, not yet purchased. The following table represents the fair value of the total long positions as reported in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009 and 2008:

	2009				2008
	($ in thousands)
Debt instruments	$	95,838	10.7	%	$	70,214	11.8	%
Equities – listed		593,201	66.6			409,329	69.0
Private and unlisted equity securities		25,228	2.8			11,897	2.0
Call options		5,285	0.6			2,526	0.5
Put options		8,809	1.0			—	—
Commodities		102,239	11.5			—	—
		830,600	93.2			493,966	83.3
Cash and funds held with brokers		46,422	5.2			94,814	16.0
Financial contracts, net		13,917	1.6			4,279	0.7
Total long investments	$	890,939	100	%	$	593,059	100.0	%

The following table represents the fair value of our total short positions as reported in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009 and 2008:

	2009				2008
	($ in thousands)
Equities – listed	$	570,875	100.0	%	$	234,301	100.0	%
Total short investments	$	570,875	100.0	%	$	234,301	100.0	%

DME Advisors also reports the composition of our managed portfolio on a notional exposure basis, which it believes is the appropriate manner in which to assess the exposure and profile of investments and is the way in which it manages the portfolio. This exposure analysis does not include cash (U.S. dollar and foreign currencies), gold, credit default swaps, or interest rate options. In addition, under this methodology, the exposure for total return swaps is reported at full notional amount. The notional amount of a derivative contract is the underlying value upon which payment obligations are computed and that we believe best represents the risk exposure. For an equity total return swap, for example, the notional amount is the number of shares underlying the swap multiplied by the market price of those shares. Options are reported at their delta adjusted basis. The delta of an option is the sensitivity of the option price to the underlying stock (or commodity) price. The delta adjusted basis is the number of shares underlying the option multiplied by the delta and the underlying stock (or commodity) price. The following table represents the composition of our investment portfolio based on the percentage of assets in our investment account managed by DME Advisors as of December 31, 2009 and 2008:

	2009						2008
	Long %			Short %			Long %			Short %
Debt instruments		10.8	%		—	%		11.8	%		—
Equities & related derivatives		71.8			(64.8	)		65.8			(39.3	)
Private and unlisted equity securities		2.6			—			1.9			—
Other investments		0.0			(0.1	)		—			(0.2	)
Total		85.2	%		(64.9	)%		79.5	%		(39.5	)%

As of December 31, 2009, our exposure to gold on a delta adjusted basis was 17.3% (2008: 10.4%).

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The following table represents the composition of our investment portfolio, by industry sector, based on the percentage of assets in our investment account managed by DME Advisors as of December 31, 2009:

Sector	Long %			Short %			Net %
Basic Materials		5.0	%		(2.5	)%		2.5	%
Consumer Cyclical		1.5			(10.1	)		(8.6	)
Consumer Non-Cyclical		4.2			(5.3	)		(1.1	)
Energy		4.3			(2.1	)		2.2
Financial		27.0			(27.7	)		(0.7	)
Healthcare		18.9			(2.7	)		16.2
Industrial		12.6			(12.2	)		0.4
Technology		11.7			(2.3	)		9.4
Total		85.2	%		(64.9	)%		20.3	%

The following table represents the composition of our investment portfolio, by the market capitalization of the underlying security, based on the percentage of assets in our investment account managed by DME Advisors as of December 31, 2009:

Capitalization	Long %			Short %			Net %
Large Cap Equity (≥$5 billion)		40.3	%		(32.9	)%		7.4	%
Mid Cap Equity (≥$1 billion)		25.2			(26.6	)		(1.4	)
Small Cap Equity (<$1 billion)		7.9			(5.4	)		2.5
Debt Instruments		10.7			—			10.7
Other Investments		1.1			—			1.1
Total		85.2	%		(64.9	)%		20.3	%

Investment Returns

A summary of our consolidated net investment income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 is as follows:

	2009			2008			2007
	($ in thousands)
Realized gains (losses) and change in unrealized gains and losses, net	$	232,410		$	(118,667	)	$	28,051
Interest, dividend and other income		17,038			20,879			21,375
Interest, dividend and other expenses		(16,886	)		(18,437	)		(7,151	)
Investment advisor compensation		(32,701	)		(9,901	)		(14,633	)
Net investment income (loss)	$	199,861		$	(126,126	)	$	27,642

Our investment return is based on the total assets in our investment account, which includes the majority of our equity capital and collected premiums. Investment returns, net of all fees and expenses, by quarter and for each year since inception are as follows: (1)

Quarter	2009		2008			2007			2006			2005			2004
1st	4.6	%		(0.9	)%		(4.2	)%		7.5	%		2.2	%		—	%
2nd	13.9			4.5			6.8			2.9			5.4			—
3rd	4.3			(15.9	)		(0.8	)		6.2			3.0			1.3
4th	6.4			(5.3	)		4.2			5.9			2.9			3.9
Full Year	32.1	%		(17.6	)%		5.9	%		24.4	%		14.2	%		5.2	% (2)

(1)

Investment returns are calculated monthly and compounded to calculate the quarterly and annual returns. Actual investment income may vary depending on cash flows into and out of the investment account. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

(2)

Represents the return for the period from July 13, 2004 (date of incorporation) to December 31, 2004.

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DME Advisors and its affiliates manage and expect to manage other client accounts besides ours, some of which have, or may have, objectives similar to ours. Because of the similarity or potential similarity of our investment portfolio to these others, and because, as a matter of ordinary course, DME Advisors and its affiliates provide their clients, including us, with results of their respective investment portfolios on the last day of each month, those other clients indirectly may have material non-public information regarding our investment portfolio. To address this issue, and to comply with Regulation FD, we present, prior to the start of trading on the first business day of each month, our largest disclosed long positions, and a summary of our consolidated net investment returns on our website, www.greenlightre.ky. DME Advisors may choose not to disclose certain positions to its clients in order to protect its investment strategy. Therefore, we present on our website the largest positions held by us that are disclosed by DME Advisors or its affiliates to their other clients.

Internal Risk Management

Our Board of Directors reviews our investment portfolio together with our reinsurance operations on a periodic basis. With the assistance of DME Advisors, we periodically analyze both our assets and liabilities including the numerous components of risk in our portfolio, such as concentration risk and liquidity risk.

Information Technology

Our information technology infrastructure is currently housed in our corporate offices in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. We have implemented backup procedures to ensure that data is backed up on a daily basis and can be quickly restored as needed.

We have a disaster recovery plan with respect to our information technology infrastructure that includes arrangements with an offshore data center in Jersey, Channel Islands. We can access our systems from this offshore facility in the event that our primary systems are unavailable due to a disaster or otherwise.

Employees

As of December 31, 2009, we had 15 full-time employees, all of whom were based in Grand Cayman. We believe that our employee relations are good. None of our employees are subject to collective bargaining agreements, and we are not aware of any current efforts to implement such agreements.

Additional Information

Our website address is www.greenlightre.ky. We make available links to our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other documents we file with or furnish to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. In order to comply with Regulation FD, our investment returns are posted on a monthly basis. Additionally, our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on our website.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Factors that could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations are outlined below. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business financial position or results of operations.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Our results of operations will fluctuate from period to period and may not be indicative of our long-term prospects.

The performance of our reinsurance operations and our investment portfolio will fluctuate from period to period. Fluctuations will result from a variety of factors, including:

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reinsurance contract pricing;

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our assessment of the quality of available reinsurance opportunities;

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the volume and mix of reinsurance products we underwrite;

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loss experience on our reinsurance liabilities;

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the performance of our investment portfolio; and

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our ability to assess and integrate our risk management strategy properly.

In particular, we seek to opportunistically underwrite products and make investments to achieve favorable return on equity over the long term. Our investment strategy to invest primarily in long and short positions in publicly-traded equity and corporate debt instruments, is subject to market volatility and is likely to be more volatile than traditional fixed-income portfolios that are comprised primarily of investment grade bonds. In addition, our opportunistic nature and focus on long-term growth in book value will result in fluctuations in total premiums written from period to period as we concentrate on underwriting contracts that we believe will generate better long-term, rather than short-term, results. Accordingly, our short-term results of operations may not be indicative of our long-term prospects.

We are a start-up operation and there is limited historical information available for investors to evaluate our performance.

We have limited operating history. We were formed in July 2004 but we did not begin underwriting reinsurance transactions until April 2006. As a result, there is limited historical information available to help investors evaluate our performance. In addition, in light of our limited operating history, and opportunistic underwriting philosophy, our historical financial statements are not necessarily meaningful for evaluating the potential of our future operations. Because our underwriting and investment strategies differ from those of other participants in the property and casualty reinsurance market, you may not be able to compare our business or prospects to other property and casualty reinsurers.

Established competitors with greater resources may make it difficult for us to effectively market our products or offer our products at a profit.

The reinsurance industry is highly competitive. We compete with major reinsurers, many of which have substantially greater financial, marketing and management resources than we do. Competition in the types of business that we underwrite is based on many factors, including:

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premium charges;

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the general reputation and perceived financial strength of the reinsurer;

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relationships with reinsurance brokers;

•

terms and conditions of products offered;

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ratings assigned by independent rating agencies;

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speed of claims payment and reputation; and

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the experience and reputation of the members of our underwriting team in the particular lines of reinsurance we seek to underwrite.

Additionally, although the members of our underwriting team have general experience across many property and casualty lines, they may not have the requisite experience or expertise to compete for all transactions that fall within our strategy of offering customized frequency and severity contracts at times and in markets where capacity and alternatives may be limited.

Our competitors include ACE Limited, Everest Re, General Re Corporation, Hannover Re Group, Munich Reinsurance Company, Partner Re Ltd., Swiss Reinsurance Company, and Transatlantic Reinsurance Company, which are dominant companies in our industry. Although we seek to provide coverage where capacity and alternatives are limited, we directly compete with these larger companies due to the breadth of their coverage across the property and casualty market in substantially all lines of business. We also compete with smaller companies and other niche reinsurers.

Further, our ability to compete may be harmed if insurance industry participants consolidate. Consolidated entities may try to use their enhanced market power to negotiate price reductions for our products and services. If competitive pressures reduce our prices, we would expect to write less business. As the insurance industry consolidates, if at all, competition for customers will become more intense and the importance of acquiring and properly servicing each customer will become greater. We could incur greater expenses relating to customer acquisition and retention, further reducing our operating margins. In addition, insurance companies that merge may be able to spread their risks across a consolidated, larger capital base so that they require less reinsurance. The number of companies offering retrocessional reinsurance may decline. Reinsurance intermediaries could also consolidate, potentially adversely impacting our ability to access business and distribute our products. We could also experience more robust competition from larger, better capitalized competitors. Any of the foregoing could significantly and negatively affect our business or our results of operation.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully in the reinsurance market. Our failure to compete effectively would significantly and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations and may increase the likelihood that we may be deemed to be a passive foreign investment company or an investment company. See risk factor ‘‘— We are subject to the risk of possibly becoming an investment company under U.S. federal securities law.’’

If our losses greatly exceed our loss reserves, our financial condition may be significantly and negatively affected.

Our results of operations and financial condition depend upon our ability to assess accurately the potential losses associated with the risks we reinsure. Reserves are estimates at a given time of claims an insurer ultimately expects to pay, based upon facts and circumstances then known, predictions of future events, estimates of future trends in claim severity and other variable factors. The inherent uncertainties of estimating loss reserves generally are greater for reinsurance companies as compared to primary insurers, primarily due to:

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the lapse of time from the occurrence of an event to the reporting of the claim and the ultimate resolution or settlement of the claim;

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the diversity of development patterns among different types of reinsurance treaties; and

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the necessary reliance on the client for information regarding claims.

As a relatively new reinsurer with an objective of being the lead underwriter on sizeable transactions and on a majority of premiums we underwrite, our estimation of reserves may be less reliable than the reserve estimations of a reinsurer with a greater volume of business of smaller transactions and an established loss history. Actual losses and loss adjustment expenses paid may deviate substantially from the estimates of our loss reserves contained in our financial statements, to our detriment. If we determine our loss reserves to be inadequate, we will increase our loss reserves with a corresponding reduction in our net income in the period in which we identify the deficiency, and such a reduction would negatively affect our results of operations. If our losses greatly exceed our loss reserves, our financial condition may be significantly and negatively affected.

The property and casualty reinsurance market may be affected by cyclical trends.

We write reinsurance in the property and casualty markets. The property and casualty reinsurance industry is cyclical. Primary insurers’ underwriting results, prevailing general economic and market conditions, liability retention decisions of companies and primary insurers and reinsurance premium rates influence the demand for property and casualty reinsurance. Prevailing prices and available surplus to support assumed business influence reinsurance supply. Supply may fluctuate in response to changes in

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return on capital realized in the reinsurance industry, the frequency and severity of losses and prevailing general economic and market conditions.

Continued increases in the supply of reinsurance may have consequences for the reinsurance industry generally and for us, including lower premium rates, increased expenses for customer acquisition and retention and less favorable policy terms and conditions.

Unpredictable developments, including courts granting increasingly larger awards for certain damages, natural disasters (such as catastrophic hurricanes, windstorms, tornados, earthquakes, wildfires and floods), fluctuations in interest rates, changes in the investment environment that affect market prices of investments and inflationary pressures, affect the industry’s profitability. The effects of cyclicality could significantly and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Adverse consequences of the recent U.S. and global economic and financial industry downturns could harm our business, our liquidity and financial condition, and our stock price.

Current economic conditions may adversely affect (among other aspects of our business) the demand for and claims made under our products, the ability of customers, counterparties and others to establish or maintain their relationships with us, our ability to access and efficiently use internal and external capital resources and our investment performance. Volatility in the U.S. and other securities markets may adversely affect our investment portfolio and our stock price.

A downgrade or withdrawal of our A.M. Best rating would significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy successfully.

Companies, insurers and reinsurance brokers use ratings from independent ratings agencies as an important means of assessing the financial strength and quality of reinsurers. A.M. Best has assigned us a financial strength rating of ‘‘A− (Excellent),’’ which is the fourth highest of 15 ratings that A.M. Best issues. This rating reflects the rating agency’s opinion of our financial strength, operating performance and ability to meet obligations. It is not an evaluation directed toward the protection of investors or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold our Class A ordinary shares. A.M. Best periodically reviews our rating and may revise it downward or revoke it at its sole discretion based primarily on its analysis of our balance sheet strength, operating performance and business profile. Factors that may affect such an analysis include:

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if we change our business practices from our organizational business plan in a manner that no longer supports our A.M. Best's rating;

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if unfavorable financial or market trends impact us;

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if our losses significantly exceed our loss reserves;

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if we are unable to retain our senior management and other key personnel; or

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if our investment portfolio incurs significant losses.

If A.M. Best downgrades or withdraws our rating, we could be severely limited or prevented from writing any new reinsurance contracts, which would significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy.

Certain of our reinsurance contracts provide the client with the right to terminate the agreement if our ‘‘A− (Excellent)’’ A.M. Best rating is downgraded below certain rating thresholds. We expect that similar provisions will be included in certain future contracts as well.

A significant decrease in our capital or surplus could enable certain clients to terminate reinsurance agreements or to require additional collateral.

Certain of our assumed reinsurance contracts contain provisions that permit our clients to cancel the contract or require additional collateral in the event of a downgrade in our ratings below specified levels or a reduction of our capital or surplus below specified levels over the course of the agreement. Whether a client would exercise such cancellation rights would likely depend, among other things, on the reason the provision is triggered, the prevailing market conditions, the degree of unexpired coverage and the pricing and availability of replacement reinsurance coverage.

If any such provisions were to become exercisable, we cannot predict whether or how many of our clients would actually exercise such rights or the extent to which they would have a significant and negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects but they could have a significant adverse effect on the operations of our company.

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If we lose or are unable to retain our senior management and other key personnel and are unable to attract qualified personnel, our ability to implement our business strategy could be delayed or hindered, which, in turn, could significantly and negatively affect our business.

Our future success depends to a significant extent on the efforts of our senior management and other key personnel to implement our business strategy. We believe there are only a limited number of available, qualified executives with substantial experience in our industry. In addition, we will need to add personnel to implement our business strategy. We could face challenges attracting personnel to the Cayman Islands. Accordingly, the loss of the services of one or more of the members of our senior management or other key personnel, or our inability to hire and retain other key personnel, could delay or prevent us from fully implementing our business strategy and, consequently, significantly and negatively affect our business.

We do not currently maintain key man life insurance with respect to any of our senior management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Underwriting Officer. If any member of senior management dies or becomes incapacitated, or leaves the company to pursue employment opportunities elsewhere, we would be solely responsible for locating an adequate replacement for such senior management and for bearing any related cost. To the extent that we are unable to locate an adequate replacement or are unable to do so within a reasonable period of time, our business may be significantly and negatively affected.

Our ability to implement our business strategy could be adversely affected by Cayman Islands employment restrictions.

Under Cayman Islands law, persons who are not Caymanian, do not possess Caymanian status, or are not otherwise entitled to reside and work in the Cayman Islands pursuant to provisions of the Immigration Law (2009 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Immigration Law, may not engage in any gainful occupation in the Cayman Islands without an appropriate governmental work permit. Such a work permit may be granted or extended on a continuous basis for a maximum period of seven years (unless the employee is deemed to be exempted from such requirement in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration Law, in which case such period may be extended to nine years and the employee is given the opportunity to apply for permanent residence) upon showing that, after proper public advertisement, no Caymanian or person of Caymanian status, or other person legally and ordinarily resident in the Cayman Islands who meets the minimum standards for the advertised position is available. The failure of these work permits to be granted or extended could delay us from fully implementing our business strategy.

Operational risks, including human or systems failures, are inherent in our business.

Operational risks and losses can result from, among other things, fraud, errors, failure to document transactions properly or to obtain proper internal authorization, failure to comply with regulatory requirements, information technology failures or external events.

We believe that our modeling, underwriting and information technology and application systems are critical to our business. Moreover, our information technology and application systems have been an important part of our underwriting process and our ability to compete successfully. We have also licensed certain systems and data from third parties. We cannot be certain that we will have access to these, or comparable, service providers, or that our information technology or application systems will continue to operate as intended. A major defect or failure in our internal controls or information technology and application systems could result in management distraction, harm our reputation or increase expenses. We believe appropriate controls and mitigation procedures are in place to prevent significant risk of defect in our internal controls, information technology and application systems, but internal controls provide only a reasonable, not absolute, assurance as to the absence of errors or irregularities and any ineffectiveness of such controls and procedures could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our failure to maintain sufficient letter of credit facilities or to increase our letter of credit capacity on commercially acceptable terms as we grow could significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy.

We are not licensed or admitted as a reinsurer in any jurisdiction other than the Cayman Islands. Certain jurisdictions, including the United States, do not permit insurance companies to take credit for reinsurance obtained from unlicensed or non-admitted insurers on their statutory financial statements unless appropriate security measures are implemented. Consequently, certain clients will require us to obtain a letter of credit or provide other collateral through funds withheld or trust arrangements. When we obtain a letter of credit facility, we are customarily required to provide collateral to the letter of credit provider in order to secure our obligations under the facility. Our ability to provide collateral, and the costs at which we provide collateral, are primarily dependent on the composition of our investment portfolio.

Typically, letters of credit are collateralized with fixed-income securities. Banks may be willing to accept our investment portfolio as collateral, but on terms that may be less favorable to us than reinsurance companies that invest solely or predominantly in fixed-income securities. The inability to renew, maintain or obtain letters of credit collateralized by our investment portfolio may significantly limit the amount of reinsurance we can write or require us to modify our investment strategy.

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Our banks have accepted, with certain restrictions, our investment portfolio as collateral. In the event of a decline in the market value of our investment portfolio that results in a collateral shortfall, as defined in each letter of credit facility, we have the right, at our option, to reduce the outstanding obligations under applicable letter of credit facility, to deposit additional collateral or to change the collateral composition in order to cure the shortfall. If the shortfall is not cured within the prescribed time period, an event of default will immediately occur. We will be prohibited from issuing additional letters of credit until any shortfall is cured.

Our access to funds under our existing credit facilities is dependent on the ability of the banks that are parties to the facilities to meet their funding commitments. Those banks may not be able to meet their funding commitments if they experience shortages of capital and liquidity or if they experience excessive volumes of borrowing requests within a short period of time, and we might be forced to replace credit sources in a difficult market.

There has also been recent consolidation in the financial industry, which could lead to increased reliance on and exposure to particular institutions. If we cannot obtain adequate capital or sources of credit on favorable terms, or at all, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected. It is possible that, in the future, one or more of the rating agencies may reduce our existing ratings. If one or more of our ratings were downgraded, we could incur higher borrowing costs and our ability to access the capital markets could be impacted. Our inability to obtain adequate capital could have a significant and negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may need additional letter of credit capacity as we grow, and if we are unable to renew, maintain or increase any of our letter of credit facilities or are unable to do so on commercially acceptable terms we may need to liquidate all or a portion of our investment portfolio and invest in a fixed-income portfolio or other forms of investment acceptable to our clients and banks as collateral, which could significantly and negatively affect our ability to implement our business strategy.

The inability to obtain business provided from brokers could adversely affect our business strategy and results of operations.

Substantially all of our business is primarily placed through brokered transactions, which involve a limited number of reinsurance brokers. Since we began underwriting operations in April 2006, we have placed substantially all of our premiums written through brokers. To lose or fail to expand all or a substantial portion of the brokered business provided through one or more of these brokers, many of whom may not be familiar with our Cayman Islands jurisdiction, could significantly and negatively affect our business and results of operations.

We may need additional capital in the future in order to operate our business, and such capital may not be available to us or may not be available to us on favorable terms.

We may need to raise additional capital in the future through public or private equity or debt offerings or otherwise in order to:

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fund liquidity needs caused by underwriting or investment losses;

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replace capital lost in the event of significant reinsurance losses or adverse reserve developments or significant investment losses;

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satisfy letters of credit or guarantee bond requirements that may be imposed by our clients or by regulators;

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meet applicable statutory jurisdiction requirements;

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meet rating agency capital requirements; or

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respond to competitive pressures.

Additional capital may not be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. Further, any additional capital raised through the sale of equity could dilute your ownership interest in our company and may cause the market price of our Class A ordinary shares to decline. Additional capital raised through the issuance of debt may result in creditors having rights, preferences and privileges senior or otherwise superior to those of our Class A ordinary shares.

Our property and property catastrophe reinsurance operations may make us vulnerable to losses from catastrophes and may cause our results of operations to vary significantly from period to period.

Certain of our reinsurance operations expose us to claims arising out of unpredictable catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, hailstorms, tornados, windstorms, severe winter weather, earthquakes, floods, fires, explosions, volcanic eruptions and other natural or man-made disasters. The incidence and severity of catastrophes are inherently unpredictable but the loss experience of property catastrophe reinsurers has been generally characterized as low frequency and high severity. Claims from catastrophic events could reduce our earnings and cause substantial volatility in our results of operations for any fiscal quarter or year and adversely affect our financial condition. Corresponding reductions in our surplus levels could impact our ability to write new reinsurance policies.

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Catastrophic losses are a function of the insured exposure in the affected area and the severity of the event. Because accounting regulations do not permit reinsurers to reserve for catastrophic events until they occur, claims from catastrophic events could cause substantial volatility in our financial results for any fiscal quarter or year and could significantly and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We depend on our clients' evaluations of the risks associated with their insurance underwriting, which may subject us to reinsurance losses.

In some of our proportional reinsurance business, in which we assume an agreed percentage of each underlying insurance contract being reinsured, or quota share contracts, we do not expect to separately evaluate each of the original individual risks assumed under these reinsurance contracts. Therefore, we will be largely dependent on the original underwriting decisions made by ceding companies. We will be subject to the risk that the clients may not have adequately evaluated the insured risks and that the premiums ceded may not adequately compensate us for the risks we assume. We also do not expect to separately evaluate each of the individual claims made on the underlying insurance contracts under quota-share contracts. Therefore, we will be dependent on the original claims decisions made by our clients.

We could face unanticipated losses from war, terrorism and political instability, and these or other unanticipated losses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We have exposure to large, unexpected losses resulting from man-made catastrophic events, such as acts of war, acts of terrorism and political instability. These risks are inherently unpredictable and recent events may indicate an increased frequency and severity of losses. It is difficult to predict the timing of these events or to estimate the amount of loss that any given occurrence will generate. To the extent that losses from these risks occur, our financial condition and results of operations could be significantly and negatively affected.

Changing climate conditions may adversely affect our financial condition, profitability or cash flows

Climate change, to the extent it produces rising temperatures and changes in weather patterns, could impact the frequency or severity of weather events and wildfires. Further, it could impact the affordability and availability of homeowners insurance, which could have an impact on pricing. Changes in weather patterns could also affect the frequency and severity of natural catastrophe events to which we may be exposed.

The involvement of reinsurance brokers subjects us to their credit risk.

In accordance with industry practice, we frequently pay amounts owed on claims under our policies to reinsurance brokers, and these brokers, in turn, remit these amounts to the ceding companies that have reinsured a portion of their liabilities with us. In some jurisdictions, if a broker fails to make such a payment, we might remain liable to the client for the deficiency notwithstanding the broker’s obligation to make such payment. Conversely, in certain jurisdictions, when the client pays premiums for policies to reinsurance brokers for payment to us, these premiums are considered to have been paid and the client will no longer be liable to us for these premiums, whether or not we have actually received them. Consequently, we assume a degree of credit risk associated with brokers around the world.

We may be unable to purchase reinsurance for the liabilities we reinsure, and if we successfully purchase such reinsurance, we may be unable to collect, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

From time to time we may purchase reinsurance for certain liabilities we reinsure, which we refer to as retrocessional coverage, in order to mitigate the effect of a potential concentration of losses upon our financial condition. The insolvency or inability or refusal of a retrocessionaire to make payments under the terms of its agreement with us could have an adverse effect on us because we remain liable to our client. From time to time, market conditions have limited, and in some cases have prevented, reinsurers from obtaining the types and amounts of retrocessional coverage that they consider adequate for their business needs. Accordingly, we may not be able to obtain our desired amounts of retrocessional coverage or negotiate terms that we deem appropriate or acceptable or obtain retrocessional coverage from entities with satisfactory creditworthiness. Our failure to establish adequate retrocessional arrangements or the failure of our retrocessional arrangements to protect us from overly concentrated risk exposure could significantly and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Currency fluctuations could result in exchange rate losses and negatively impact our business.

Our functional currency is the U.S. dollar. However, we expect that we will write a portion of our business and receive premiums in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. In addition, DME Advisors may invest a portion of our portfolio in securities or cash denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Consequently, we may experience exchange rate losses to the extent our foreign currency exposure is not hedged or is not sufficiently hedged, which could significantly and negatively affect our business. If we do seek to hedge our foreign currency exposure through the use of forward foreign currency exchange contracts or currency swaps, we will be subject to the risk that our counterparties to the arrangements fail to perform.

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There are differences under Cayman Islands corporate law and Delaware corporate law with respect to interested party transactions which may benefit certain of our shareholders at the expense of other shareholders.

Under Cayman Islands corporate law, a director may vote on a contract or transaction where the director has an interest as a shareholder, director, officer or employee provided such interest is disclosed. None of our contracts will be deemed to be void because any director is an interested party in such transaction and interested parties will not be held liable for monies owed to the company.

Under Delaware law, interested party transactions are voidable.

Risks Relating to Insurance and Other Regulations

Any suspension or revocation of our reinsurance license would materially impact our ability to do business and implement our business strategy.

We are presently licensed as a reinsurer only in the Cayman Islands. The suspension or revocation of our license to do business as a reinsurance company in the Cayman Islands for any reason would mean that we would not be able to enter into any new reinsurance contracts until the suspension ended or we became licensed in another jurisdiction. Any such suspension or revocation of our license would negatively impact our reputation in the reinsurance marketplace and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

The Cayman Island Monetary Authority, or CIMA, which is the regulating authority of the Cayman Islands, may take a number of actions, including suspending or revoking a reinsurance license whenever CIMA believes that a licensee is or may become unable to meet its obligations, is carrying on business in a manner likely to be detrimental to the public interest or to the interest of its creditors or policyholders, has contravened the terms of the Law, or has otherwise behaved in such a manner so as to cause CIMA to call into question the licensee's fitness.

Further CIMA may revoke our license if:

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we cease to carry on reinsurance business;

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the direction and management of our reinsurance business has not been conducted in a fit and proper manner;

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a person holding a position as a director, manager or officer is not a fit and proper person to hold the respective position; or

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we become bankrupt or go into liquidation or we are wound up or otherwise dissolved.

Similarly, if CIMA suspended or revoked our license, we could lose our exemption under the Investment Company Act.

We are subject to the risk of possibly becoming an investment company under U.S. federal securities law.

The Investment Company Act regulates certain companies that invest in or trade securities. We rely on an exemption under the Investment Company Act for an entity organized and regulated as a foreign insurance company which is engaged primarily and predominantly in the reinsurance of risks on insurance agreements. The law in this area is subjective and there is a lack of guidance as to the meaning of ‘‘primarily and predominantly’’ under the relevant exemption to the Investment Company Act. For example, there is no standard for the amount of premiums that need to be written relative to the level of an entity’s capital in order to qualify for the exemption. If this exemption were deemed inapplicable, we would have to register under the Investment Company Act as an investment company. Registered investment companies are subject to extensive, restrictive and potentially adverse regulation relating to, among other things, operating methods, management, capital structure, leverage, dividends and transactions with affiliates. Registered investment companies are not permitted to operate their business in the manner in which we operate our business, nor are registered investment companies permitted to have many of the relationships that we have with our affiliated companies. Accordingly, we likely would not be permitted to engage DME Advisors as our investment advisor, unless we obtained board and shareholder approvals under the Investment Company Act. If DME Advisors were not our investment advisor, DME Advisors would liquidate our investment portfolio and we would seek to identify and retain another investment advisor with a value-oriented investment philosophy. If we could not identify or retain such an advisor, we would be required to make substantial modifications to our investment strategy. Any such changes to our investment strategy could significantly and negatively impact our investment results, financial condition and our ability to implement our business strategy.

If at any time it were established that we had been operating as an investment company in violation of the registration requirements of the Investment Company Act, there would be a risk, among other material adverse consequences, that we could become subject to monetary penalties or injunctive relief, or both, that we would be unable to enforce contracts with third parties or that third parties could seek to obtain rescission of transactions with us undertaken during the period in which it was established that we were an unregistered investment company.

To the extent that the laws and regulations change in the future so that contracts we write are deemed not to be reinsurance contracts, we will be at greater risk of not qualifying for the Investment Company Act exception. Additionally, it is possible that our classification as an investment company would result in the suspension or revocation of our reinsurance license.

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Insurance regulators in the United States or elsewhere may review our activities and claim that we are subject to that jurisdiction’s licensing requirements.

We are admitted to do business only in the Cayman Islands. In general, the Cayman Islands insurance statutes, regulations and the policies of CIMA are less restrictive than United States state insurance statutes and regulations. We cannot assure you, however, that insurance regulators in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere will not review our activities and claim that we are subject to such jurisdiction’s licensing requirements. In addition, we are subject to indirect regulatory requirements imposed by jurisdictions that may limit our ability to provide reinsurance. For example, our ability to write reinsurance may be subject, in certain cases, to arrangements satisfactory to applicable regulatory bodies and proposed legislation and regulations may have the effect of imposing additional requirements upon, or restricting the market for, non-U.S. reinsurers such as us with whom domestic companies may place business. We do not know of any such proposed legislation pending at this time.

If in the future we were to become subject to the laws or regulations of any state in the United States or to the laws of the United States, the European Union, or of any other country, we may consider various alternatives to our operations. If we choose to attempt to become licensed in another jurisdiction, for instance, we may not be able to do so and the modification of the conduct of our business or the non-compliance with insurance statutes and regulations could significantly and negatively affect our business.

Current legal and regulatory activities relating to certain insurance products could affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The sale and purchase of products that may be structured in such a way so as to not contain sufficient risk transfer to meet the requirement of U.S. GAAP to be accounted for as reinsurance, or loss mitigation insurance products, have become the focus of investigations by the SEC and numerous state Attorneys General. Although we seek to use structured contractual features in our product offerings, we conduct both internal and external accounting analysis with respect to risk transfer and believe that to date we have accurately reported our contracts that contain sufficient risk transfer under U.S. GAAP to be accounted for as reinsurance. However, because some of our contracts contain or will contain features designed to manage the overall risks we assume, such as a cap on potential losses or a refund of some portion of the premium if we incur smaller losses than anticipated at the time the contract is entered into, it is possible that we may become subject to the ongoing inquiries into loss mitigation products conducted by the SEC or certain Attorney Generals. In addition, we cannot predict at this time what effect the current investigations, litigation and regulatory activity will have on the reinsurance industry or our business or what, if any, changes may be made to laws and regulations regarding the industry and financial reporting. It is possible that these investigations or related regulatory developments will mandate changes in industry practices that will negatively impact our ability to use certain loss mitigation features in our products and, accordingly, our ability to operate our business pursuant to our existing strategy. Moreover, any reclassification of our reinsurance contracts as deposit liabilities rather than reinsurance contacts could call into question our exception under the Investment Company Act.

Risks Relating to Our Investment Strategy and Our Investment Advisor

We have limited control as to how our investment portfolio is allocated and its performance depends on the ability of DME Advisors to select and manage appropriate investments.

DME Advisors acts as our exclusive investment advisor for our investment portfolio and recommends appropriate investment opportunities. Although DME Advisors is contractually obligated to follow our investment guidelines, we cannot assure shareholders as to how assets will be allocated to different investment opportunities, including long and short positions and derivatives trading, which could increase the level of risk to which our investment portfolio will be exposed. In addition, DME Advisors can outsource to sub-advisors without our consent or approval.

The performance of our investment portfolio depends to a great extent on the ability of DME Advisors to select and manage appropriate investments. Our advisory agreement with DME Advisors terminates on December 31, 2010, unless extended, and we have limited ability to terminate the advisory agreement earlier. We cannot assure you that DME Advisors will be successful in meeting our investment objectives or that the advisory agreement with DME Advisors will be renewed. The failure of DME Advisors to perform adequately could significantly and negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We depend upon DME Advisors to implement our investment strategy.

We depend upon DME Advisors to implement our investment strategy. Accordingly, the diminution or loss of the services of DME Advisors could significantly affect our business. DME Advisors, in turn, is dependent on the talents, efforts and leadership of DME Advisors’ principals. The diminution or loss of the services of DME Advisors’ principals, or diminution or loss of their reputation and integrity or any negative market or industry perception arising from that diminution or loss, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, the loss of DME Advisors' key personnel, or DME Advisors' inability to hire and retain other key personnel, over which we have no control, could delay or prevent DME Advisors from fully implementing our investment strategy on our behalf, and consequently, could significantly and negatively affect our business.

Our advisory agreement with DME Advisors does not allow us to terminate the agreement in the event that DME Advisors loses any or all of its principals or key personnel. The advisory agreement requires that we utilize the advisory services of DME Advisors exclusively until December 31, 2010 subject to limited termination provisions, even if the performance of our investment portfolio is below our expectations.

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Our investment performance may suffer as a result of adverse capital market developments or other factors that impact our liquidity, which could in turn adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We may derive a significant portion of our income from our investment portfolio. As a result, our operating results depend in part on the performance of our investment portfolio. We strive to structure our investments in a manner that recognizes our liquidity needs for future liabilities. We cannot assure you that DME Advisors will successfully structure our investments in relation to our anticipated liabilities. Failure to do so could force us to liquidate investments at a significant loss or at prices that are not optimal, which could significantly and adversely affect our financial results.

The risks associated with DME Advisors’ value-oriented investment strategy may be substantially greater than the risks associated with traditional fixed-income investment strategies. In addition, making long equity investments in an up or rising market may increase the risk of not generating profits on these investments and we may incur losses if the market declines. Similarly, making short equity investments in a down or falling market may increase the risk of not generating profits on these investments and we may incur losses if the market rises. The market price of the Class A ordinary shares may be volatile and the risk of loss may be greater when compared with other reinsurance companies. The success of our investment strategy may also be affected by general economic conditions. Unexpected market volatility and illiquidity associated with our investments could significantly and negatively affect our investment portfolio results.

Potential conflicts of interest with DME Advisors may exist that could adversely affect us.

None of DME Advisors and its principals, including David Einhorn, Chairman of our Board of Directors, and the president of Greenlight Capital, Inc., are obligated to devote any specific amount of time to the affairs of our company. Affiliates of DME Advisors, including Greenlight Capital, Inc., manage and expect to continue to manage other client accounts, some of which have objectives similar to ours, including collective investment vehicles managed by DME Advisors' affiliates and in which DME Advisors or its affiliates may have an equity interest. Pursuant to our advisory agreement with DME Advisors, DME Advisors has the exclusive right to manage our investment portfolio and is required to follow our investment guidelines and act in a manner that is fair and equitable in allocating investment opportunities to us, but the agreement does not otherwise impose any specific obligations or requirements concerning allocation of time, effort or investment opportunities to us or any restriction on the nature or timing of investments for our account and for DME Advisors' own account or other accounts that DME Advisors or its affiliates may manage. If we compete for any investment opportunity with another entity that DME Advisors or its affiliates manage, DME Advisors is not required to afford us any exclusivity or priority. DME Advisors' interest and the interests of its affiliates, including Greenlight Capital, Inc., may at times conflict, possibly to DME Advisors' detriment, which may potentially adversely affect our investment opportunities and returns.

Although Mr. Einhorn, Chairman of our Board of Directors, recused himself from the vote approving and adopting our investment guidelines, he is not, under Cayman Islands law, legally restricted from participating in making decisions with respect to our investment guidelines. Accordingly, his involvement as a member of our Board of Directors may lead to a conflict of interest.

DME Advisors and its affiliates may also manage accounts whose advisory fee schedules, investment objectives and policies differ from ours, which may cause DME Advisors and its affiliates to effect trading in one account that may have an adverse effect on another account, including ours. We are not entitled to inspect the trading records of DME Advisors, or its principals, that are not related to our company.

Our investment portfolio may be concentrated in a few large positions which could result in large losses.

Our investment guidelines provide that DME Advisors may commit up to 20% of our assets under management to any one investment. Accordingly, from time to time we may hold a few, relatively large security positions in relation to our capital. As of December 31, 2009, we were invested in approximately 100 equity and debt securities and the largest five long and short positions comprised an aggregate of 38% and 20% respectively, of our investment portfolio. Since our investment portfolio may not be widely diversified, it may be subject to more rapid changes in value than would be the case if the investment portfolio were required to maintain a wide diversification among companies, securities and types of securities.

We are exposed to credit risk primarily from the possibility that counterparties may default on their obligations to us.

We are exposed to credit risk primarily from the possibility that counterparties may default on their obligations to us. The amount of the maximum exposure to credit risk is indicated by the carrying value of our financial assets. In addition, we hold the securities of our investment portfolio with several prime brokers and have credit risk from the possibility that one or more of them may default on their obligations to us. Other than our investment in derivative contracts and corporate debt, if any, and the fact that our investments are held by prime brokers and custodians on our behalf, we have no significant concentrations of credit risk.

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Issuers or borrowers whose securities or debt we hold, customers, reinsurers, clearing agents, exchanges, clearing houses and other financial intermediaries and guarantors may default on their obligations to us due to bankruptcy, insolvency, lack of liquidity, adverse economic conditions, operational failure, fraud or other reasons. Such defaults could have a significant and negative effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Additionally, the underlying assets supporting our financial contracts may deteriorate causing these securities to incur losses.

DME Advisors may trade on margin and use other forms of financial leverage, which could potentially adversely affect our revenues.

Our investment guidelines provide DME Advisors with the ability to trade on margin and use other forms of financial leverage. Fluctuations in the market value of our investment portfolio could have a disproportionately large effect in relation to our capital. Any event which may adversely affect the value of positions we hold could significantly negatively affect the net asset value of our investment portfolio and thus our results of operations.

DME Advisors may effectuate short sales that subject us to unlimited loss potential.

DME Advisors may enter into transactions in which it sells a security it does not own, which we refer to as a short sale, in anticipation of a decline in the market value of the security. Short sales for our account theoretically will involve unlimited loss potential since the market price of securities sold short may continuously increase. Under adverse market conditions, DME Advisors might have difficulty purchasing securities to meet short sale delivery obligations and may have to cover shorts sales at suboptimal prices.

DME Advisors may transact in derivative instruments, which may increase the risk of our investment portfolio.

Derivative instruments, or derivatives, include futures, options, swaps, structured securities and other instruments and contracts that derive their value from one or more underlying securities, financial benchmarks, currencies, commodities or indices. There are a number of risks associated with derivatives trading. Because many derivatives are leveraged, and thus provide significantly more market exposure than the money paid or deposited when the transaction is entered into, a relatively small adverse market movement may result in the loss of a substantial portion of or the entire investment, and may potentially expose us to a loss exceeding the original amount invested. Derivatives may also expose us to liquidity and counterparty risk. There may not be a liquid market within which to close or dispose of outstanding derivatives contracts. In the event of the counterparty’s default, we will generally only rank as an unsecured creditor and risk the loss of all or a portion of the amounts we are contractually entitled to receive.

The compensation arrangements of DME Advisors may create an incentive to effect transactions that are risky or speculative.

Pursuant to the advisory agreement with DME Advisors, we are obligated to pay DME Advisors:

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a 1.5% annual management fee, regardless of the performance of our investment account, payable monthly based on net assets of our investment account, excluding assets, if any, held in Regulation 114 Trusts; and

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performance compensation based on the appreciation in the value of our investment account equal to 20% of net profits calculated per annum, subject to a loss carry forward provision.

The loss carry forward provision allows DME Advisors to earn reduced incentive compensation of 10% of profits in any year subsequent to the year in which our investment account managed by DME Advisors incurs a loss, until all losses are recouped and an additional amount equal to 150% of the loss is earned.

While the performance compensation arrangement provides that losses will be carried forward as an offset against net profits in subsequent periods, DME Advisors generally will not otherwise be penalized for realized losses or decreases in the value of our portfolio. These performance compensation arrangements may create an incentive for DME Advisors to engage in transactions that focus on the potential for short-term gains rather than long-term growth or that are particularly risky or speculative.

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DME Advisors' representatives' service on boards and committees may place trading restrictions on our investments and may subject us to indemnification liability.

DME Advisors may from time to time place its or its affiliates’ representatives on creditors’ committees and/or boards of certain companies in which we have invested. While such representation may enable DME Advisors to enhance the sale value of our investments, it may also place trading restrictions on our investments and may subject us to indemnification liability. The advisory agreement provides for the indemnification of DME Advisors or any other person designated by DME Advisors for claims arising from such board representation.

From March 31, 2006 until March 7, 2007, David Einhorn, the Chairman of our Board of Directors, was a director of New Century Financial Corp., or New Century, a subprime mortgage lender that filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on April 2, 2007. Each of New Century's directors, including Mr. Einhorn, has been named as a defendant in a consolidated shareholder lawsuit. If Mr. Einhorn were held liable with respect to any claims relating to or arising out of New Century's bankruptcy filing or the shareholder lawsuit, and if such claims were not fully covered by New Century's director and officer insurance coverage or indemnification by New Century, then under the advisory agreement we may have to indemnify him for certain losses arising from such claims. We do not believe that our indemnification obligations, if any, relating to Mr. Einhorn's former membership on the board of directors of New Century would have a material adverse effect on our business.

As of December 31, 2009, representatives of DME Advisors sat on the board of directors of each of BioFuel Energy Corp. and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, both of whose securities are publicly traded, as well as Ark Real Estate Partners LP, a privately-held company. As of December 31, 2009, our portfolio included investments in each of these companies.

The ability to use ‘‘soft dollars’’ may provide DME Advisors with an incentive to select certain brokers that may take into account benefits to be received by DME Advisors.

DME Advisors is entitled to use so-called ‘‘soft dollars’’ generated by commissions paid in connection with transactions for our investment portfolio to pay for certain of DME Advisors' operating and overhead costs, including the payment of all or a portion of its costs and expenses of operation. ‘‘Soft dollars’’ are a means of paying brokerage firms for their services through commission revenue, rather than through direct payments. DME Advisors' right to use soft dollars may give DME Advisors an incentive to select brokers or dealers for our transactions, or to negotiate commission rates or other execution terms, in a manner that takes into account the soft dollar benefits received by DME Advisors rather than giving exclusive consideration to the interests of our investment portfolio and, accordingly, may create a conflict.

The advisory agreement has limited termination provisions.

The advisory agreement has limited termination provisions which restrict our ability to manage our investment portfolio outside of DME Advisors. Because the advisory agreement contains exclusivity and limited termination provisions, we are unable to use investment managers other than DME Advisors for so long as the agreement is in effect. The advisory agreement term is January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010 and will automatically renew for successive three-year terms unless we or DME Advisors notify the other party at least 90 days prior to the end of the current term of its desire to terminate. We may terminate the advisory agreement prior to the expiration of its term only ‘‘for cause,’’ which is defined as:

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a material violation of applicable law relating to DME Advisors' advisory business;

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DME Advisors' gross negligence, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of its obligations under the advisory agreement;

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a material breach by DME Advisors of our investment guidelines that is not cured within a 15-day period; or

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a material breach by DME Advisors' of its obligations to return and deliver assets as we may request.

If we become dissatisfied with the results of the investment performance of DME Advisors, we will be unable to hire new investment managers until the advisory agreement expires by its terms or is terminated for cause.

Certain of our investments may have limited liquidity and lack valuation data, which could create a conflict of interest.

Our investment guidelines provide DME Advisors with the flexibility to invest in certain securities with limited liquidity or no public market. This lack of liquidity may adversely affect the ability of DME Advisors to execute trade orders at desired prices and may impact our ability to fulfill our payment obligations. To the extent that DME Advisors invests in securities or instruments for which market quotations are not readily available, under the terms of the advisory agreement the valuation of such securities and instruments for purposes of compensation to DME Advisors will be determined by DME Advisors, whose determination, subject to audit verification, will be conclusive and binding in the absence of bad faith or manifest error. Because the advisory agreement gives DME Advisors the power to determine the value of securities with no readily discernable market value, and because the calculation of DME Advisors' fee is based on the value of the investment account, a conflict may exist or arise.

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Increased regulation or scrutiny of alternative investment advisors may affect DME Advisors’ ability to manage our investment portfolio or affect our business reputation.

Non-traditional investment advisors that pursue investment strategies like ours, which involve the shorting of securities and the use of derivatives and leverage to enhance returns and which we refer to as alternative investment strategies, have recently come under increased scrutiny by regulatory officials and have been the subject of proposals for new regulation and oversight.

On October 27, 2009, the House Financial Services Committee approved an amended version of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009 for progression to the floor of the House of Representatives (the “Registration Act”). The Registration Act would, if enacted, require many investment advisors to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Registration Act or other potential legislation relating to the regulation of investment advisors, if enacted, could adversely impact DME Advisors’ ability to manage our investment portfolio or its ability to manage our portfolio pursuant to our existing investment strategy, which could cause us to alter our existing investment strategy and could significantly and negatively affect our business and results of operations. In addition, adverse publicity regarding alternative investment strategies generally, or DME Advisors or its affiliates specifically, could negatively affect our business reputation and attractiveness as a counterparty to brokers and clients.

Short sale transactions have been subject to increased regulatory scrutiny, including the imposition of restrictions on short selling certain securities and reporting requirements. Our ability to execute a short selling strategy may be materially adversely impacted by temporary and/or new permanent rules, interpretations, prohibitions, and restrictions adopted in response to these adverse market events. Temporary restrictions and/or prohibitions on short selling activity may be imposed by regulatory authorities with little or no advance notice and may impact prior and future trading activities of our investment portfolio. Additionally, the SEC, its non-U.S. counterparts, other governmental authorities and/or self-regulatory organizations may at any time promulgate permanent rules or interpretations consistent with such temporary restrictions or that impose additional or different permanent or temporary limitations or prohibitions. The SEC might impose different limitations and/or prohibitions on short selling from those imposed by various non-U.S. regulatory authorities. These different regulations, rules or interpretations might have different effective periods.

Regulatory authorities may from time-to-time impose restrictions that adversely affect our ability to borrow certain securities in connection with short sale transactions. In addition, traditional lenders of securities might be less likely to lend securities under certain market conditions. As a result, we may not be able to effectively pursue a short selling strategy due to a limited supply of securities available for borrowing. We may also incur additional costs in connection with short sale transactions, including in the event that they are required to enter into a borrowing arrangement in advance of any short sales. Moreover, the ability to continue to borrow a security is not guaranteed and we are subject to strict delivery requirements. The inability to deliver securities within the required time frame may subject us to mandatory close out by the executing broker-dealer. A mandatory close out may subject us to unintended costs and losses. Certain action or inaction by third parties, such as executing broker-dealers or clearing broker-dealers, may materially impact our ability to effect short sale transactions.

We may invest in securities based outside the United States which may be riskier than securities of United States issuers.

Under our investment guidelines, DME Advisors may invest in securities of issuers organized or based outside the United States. These investments may be subject to a variety of risks and other special considerations not affecting securities of U.S. issuers. Many foreign securities markets are not as developed or efficient as those in the United States. Securities of some foreign issuers are less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers. Similarly, volume and liquidity in many foreign securities markets are less than in the United States and, at times, price volatility can be greater than in the United States. Non-U.S. issuers may be subject to less stringent financial reporting and informational disclosure standards, practices and requirements than those applicable to U.S. issuers.

Risks Relating to our Class A Ordinary Shares

A shareholder may be required to sell its Class A ordinary shares.

Our Third Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, or Articles, provide that we have the option, but not the obligation, to require a shareholder to sell its Class A ordinary shares for their fair market value to us, to other shareholders or to third parties if our Board of Directors determines that ownership of our Class A ordinary shares by such shareholder may result in adverse tax, regulatory or legal consequences to us, any of our subsidiaries or any of our shareholders and that such sale is necessary to avoid or cure such adverse consequences.

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Provisions of our Articles, the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands and our corporate structure may each impede a takeover, which could adversely affect the value of our Class A ordinary shares.

Our Articles contain certain provisions that could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would be beneficial to our shareholders. Our Articles provide that a director may only be removed for "Cause" as defined in the Articles, upon the affirmative vote of not less than 50% of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares.

Our Articles permit our Board of Directors to issue preferred shares from time to time, with such rights and preferences as they consider appropriate. Our Board of Directors may authorize the issuance of preferred shares with terms and conditions and under circumstances that could have an effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction, deny shareholders the receipt of a premium on their Class A ordinary shares in the event of a tender or other offer for Class A ordinary shares and have a depressive effect on the market price of the Class A ordinary shares.

As compared to mergers under corporate law in the United States, it may be more difficult to consummate a merger of two or more entities in the Cayman Islands, even if such transaction would be beneficial to our shareholders. Cayman Islands law has statutory provisions that provide for the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, which are commonly referred to, in the Cayman Islands, as "schemes of arrangement." Recently, in May 2009, the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands was amended to create a process for merger or consolidation of two or more companies that are Cayman Islands entities or where the surviving entity is a Cayman Islands company. Prior to the adoption of this new law, the "schemes or arrangement" was the only vehicle available to consolidate companies and Cayman Islands law did not provide for mergers as that term is understood under corporate law in the United States. Although the new merger law makes it faster and easier for companies to merge or consolidate than the "schemes of arrangement" statutory provision, the new merger law does not replace the "schemes of arrangement" provision as the new merger law only applies to a transaction in which all companies involved are Cayman Islands companies or where the surviving entity is a Cayman Islands entity. With respect to all other mergers, the "schemes of arrangement" provision continues to apply. The procedural and legal requirements necessary to consummate these transactions under the new merger law or the "schemes of arrangement" provision may be more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States.

Under Cayman Islands law and practice, a scheme of arrangement must be approved at a shareholders’ meeting by each class of shareholders, in each case, by a majority of the number of holders of each class of an entity's shares that are present and voting, either in person or by proxy, at such a meeting, which holders must also represent 75% in value of such class issued that are present and voting, either in person or by proxy, at such meeting, excluding the shares owned by the parties to the scheme of arrangement. A merger under the new law requires approval by the shareholders of each company representing 75% in value of the shareholders voting together as one class, or where the shares to be issued in the surviving company will have the same rights and economic value, by a special resolution, which normally requires, as a minimum, a two thirds majority of shareholders voting together as one class.

Although a merger under the new law does not require court approval, the convening of these meetings and the terms of the amalgamation under the "schemes of arrangement" must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. Although there is no requirement to seek the consent of the creditors of the parties involved in the scheme of arrangement, the Grand Court typically seeks to ensure that the creditors have consented to the transfer of their liabilities to the surviving entity or that the scheme of arrangement does not otherwise materially adversely affect the creditors’ interests. Furthermore, the Grand Court will only approve a scheme of arrangement if it is satisfied that:

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the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with;

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the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question;

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the scheme of arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and

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the scheme of arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law.

In addition, David Einhorn, Chairman of our Board of Directors, owns all of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares. As a result, we will not be able to enter into a scheme of arrangement without the approval of Mr. Einhorn as the holder of our Class B ordinary shares.

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Holders of Class A ordinary shares may have difficulty obtaining or enforcing a judgment against us, and they may face difficulties in protecting their interests because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law.

Because we are a Cayman Islands company, there is uncertainty as to whether the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands would recognize or enforce judgments of United States courts obtained against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof, or be competent to hear original actions brought in the Cayman Islands against us predicated upon the securities laws of the United States or any state thereof.

We are incorporated as an exempted company limited by shares under the Companies Law. A significant amount of our assets are located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for persons purchasing the Class A ordinary shares to effect service of process within the United States upon us or to enforce judgments against us or judgments obtained in U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state of the United States.

Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will, based on the principle that a judgment by a competent foreign court will impose upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given, recognize and enforce a foreign judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction if such judgment is final, for a liquidated sum, not in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty if not inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matters, and was not obtained in a manner, and is not of a kind, the enforcement of which is contrary to the public policy of the Cayman Islands. There is doubt, however, as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will, in an original action in the Cayman Islands, recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States or any state of the United States on the grounds that such provisions are penal in nature.

A Cayman Islands court may stay proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

Unlike many jurisdictions in the United States, Cayman Islands law does not specifically provide for shareholder appraisal rights on a merger or consolidation of an entity. This may make it more difficult for shareholders to assess the value of any consideration they may receive in a merger or consolidation or to require that the offer or give a shareholder additional consideration if he believes the consideration offered is insufficient.

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies such as ours have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records and accounts. Our directors have discretion under our Articles to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, the corporate records may be inspected by shareholders, but are not obligated to make them available to shareholders. This fact may make it more difficult for shareholders to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

Subject to limited exceptions, under Cayman Islands law, a minority shareholder may not bring a derivative action against our Board of Directors.

Provisions of our Articles may reallocate the voting power of our Class A ordinary shares and subject holders of Class A ordinary shares to SEC compliance.

In certain circumstances, the total voting power of our Class A ordinary shares held by any one person will be reduced to less than 9.9% and the total voting power of the Class B ordinary shares will be reduced to 9.5% of the total voting power of the total issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In the event a holder of our Class A ordinary shares acquires shares representing 9.9% or more of the total voting power of our total ordinary shares or the Class B ordinary shares represent more than 9.5% of the total voting power of our total outstanding shares, there will be an effective reallocation of the voting power of the Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares which may cause a shareholder to acquire 5% or more of the voting power of the total ordinary shares.

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Such a shareholder may become subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of Sections 13(d) and (g) of the Exchange Act. Such a reallocation also may result in an obligation to amend previous filings made under Section 13(d) or (g) of the Exchange Act. Under our Articles, we have no obligation to notify shareholders of any adjustments to their voting power. Shareholders should consult their own legal counsel regarding the possible reporting requirements under Section 13 of the Exchange Act.

As of December 31, 2009, David Einhorn owned 17.2% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares, which given that each Class B share is entitled to ten votes, causes him to exceed the 9.5% limitation imposed on the total voting power of the Class B ordinary shares. Thus, the voting power held by the Class B ordinary shares that is in excess of the 9.5% limitation will be reallocated pro rata to holders of Class A ordinary shares according to their percentage interest in the company. However, no shareholder will be allocated voting rights that would cause it to have 9.9% or more of the total voting power of our ordinary shares. The allocation of the voting power of the Class B ordinary shares to a holder of Class A ordinary shares will depend upon the total voting power of the Class B ordinary shares outstanding, as well as the percentage of Class A ordinary shares held by a shareholder and the other holders of Class A ordinary shares. Accordingly, we cannot estimate with precision what multiple of a vote per share a holder of Class A ordinary shares will be allocated as a result of the anticipated reallocation of voting power of the Class B ordinary shares.

Risks Relating to Taxation

We may become subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands, which would negatively affect our results.

Under current Cayman Islands law, we are not obligated to pay any taxes in the Cayman Islands on either income or capital gains. The Governor-in-Cabinet of Cayman Islands has granted us an exemption from the imposition of any such tax on us until February 1, 2025. We cannot be assured that after such date we would not be subject to any such tax. If we were to become subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands, our financial condition and results of operations could be significantly and negatively affected. See ‘‘Certain Cayman Islands Tax Considerations.’’

Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re may be subject to United States federal income taxation.

Greenlight Capital Re and Greenlight Re are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and intend to operate in a manner that will not cause us to be treated as engaging in a trade or business within the United States and will not cause us to be subject to current United States federal income taxation on Greenlight Capital Re's and/or Greenlight Re's net income. However, because there are no definitive standards provided by the Internal Revenue Code, regulations or court decisions as to the specific activities that constitute being engaged in the conduct of a trade or business within the United States, and as any such determination is essentially factual in nature, we cannot assure you that the United States Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, will not successfully assert that Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re are engaged in a trade or business within the United States. If the IRS were to successfully assert that Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re have been engaged in a trade or business within the United States in any taxable year, various adverse tax consequences could result, including the following: Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re may become subject to current United States federal income taxation on its net income from sources within the United States; Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re may be subject to United States federal income tax on a portion of its net investment income, regardless of its source; Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re may not be entitled to deduct certain expenses that would otherwise be deductible from the income subject to United States taxation; and Greenlight Capital Re and/or Greenlight Re may be subject to United States branch profits tax on profits deemed to have been distributed out of the United States.

United States persons who own Class A ordinary shares may be subject to United States federal income taxation on our undistributed earnings and may recognize ordinary income upon disposition of Class A ordinary shares.

Passive Foreign Investment Company. Significant potential adverse United States federal income tax consequences generally apply to any United States person who owns shares in a passive foreign investment company, or a PFIC. We believe that each of Greenlight Capital Re and Greenlight Re was a PFIC in 2006, 2005 and 2004. We do not believe, although we cannot assure you, that either of Greenlight Capital Re or Greenlight Re were a PFIC since 2007. We cannot provide assurance that either Greenlight Capital Re or Greenlight Re will not be a PFIC in any future taxable year.

In general, either of Greenlight Capital Re or Greenlight Re would be a PFIC for a taxable year if either (i) 75% or more of its income constitutes ‘‘passive income’’ or (ii) 50% or more of its assets produce ‘‘passive income.’’ Passive income generally includes interest, dividends and other investment income but does not include income derived in the active conduct of an insurance business by a corporation predominantly engaged in an insurance business. This exception for insurance companies is intended to ensure that a bona fide insurance entity’s income is not treated as passive income, except to the extent such income is attributable to financial reserves in excess of the reasonable needs of the insurance business. We believe that we are currently operating and intend to continue operating our business with financial reserves at a level that should not cause us to be deemed PFICs, although we cannot assure you the IRS will not successfully challenge this conclusion. If we are unable to underwrite sufficient amount of risks, either of Greenlight Capital Re or Greenlight Re may become a PFIC.

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In addition, sufficient risk must be transferred under an insurance entity’s contracts with its insureds in order to qualify for the insurance exception. Whether our insurance contracts possess adequate risk transfer for purposes of determining whether income under our contracts is insurance income, and whether we are predominantly engaged in the insurance business, are subjective in nature and there is very little authority on these issues. However, because we are and may continue to be engaged in certain structured risk and other non-traditional reinsurance markets, we cannot assure you that the IRS will not successfully challenge the level of risk transfer under our reinsurance contracts for purposes of the insurance company exception. We cannot assure you that the IRS will not successfully challenge our interpretation of the scope of the active insurance company exception and our qualification for the exception. Further, the IRS may issue regulatory or other guidance that causes us to fail to qualify for the active insurance company exception on a prospective or retroactive basis. Therefore, we cannot assure you that we will satisfy the exception for insurance companies and will not be treated as PFICs currently or in the future.

Controlled Foreign Corporation. United States persons who, directly or indirectly or through attribution rules, own 10% or more of our Class A ordinary shares, which we refer to as United States 10% shareholders, may be subject to the controlled foreign corporation, or CFC, rules. Under the CFC rules, each United States 10% shareholder must annually include his pro rata share of the CFC’s ‘‘subpart F income,’’ even if no distributions are made. In general, a foreign insurance company will be treated as a CFC only if United States 10% shareholders collectively own more than 25% of the total combined voting power or total value of the entity’s shares for an uninterrupted period of 30 days or more during any year. We believe that the dispersion of our Class A ordinary shares among holders and the restrictions placed on transfer, issuance or repurchase of our Class A ordinary shares (including the ownership limitations described below), will generally prevent shareholders who acquire Class A ordinary shares from being United States 10% shareholders. In addition, because our Articles prevent any person from holding 9.9% or more of the total combined voting power of our shares (whether held directly, indirectly, or constructively), unless such provision is waived by the unanimous consent of our Board of Directors, we believe no persons holding Class A ordinary shares should be viewed as United States 10% shareholders of a CFC for purposes of the CFC rules. We cannot assure you, however, that these rules will not apply to you. If you are a United States person we strongly urge you to consult your own tax advisor concerning the CFC rules.

Related Person Insurance Income. If:

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our gross income attributable to insurance or reinsurance policies where the direct or indirect insureds are our direct or indirect United States shareholders or persons related to such United States shareholders equals or exceeds 20% of our gross insurance income in any taxable year; and

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direct or indirect insureds and persons related to such insureds owned directly or indirectly 20% or more of the voting power or value of our stock,

a United States person who owns Class A ordinary shares directly or indirectly on the last day of the taxable year would most likely be required to include their pro rata share of our related person insurance income for the taxable year in their income. This amount would be determined as if such related person insurance income were distributed proportionally to United States persons at that date. We do not expect that we will knowingly enter into reinsurance agreements in which, in the aggregate, the direct or indirect insureds are, or are related to, owners of 20% or more of the Class A ordinary shares. We do not believe that the 20% gross insurance income threshold will be met. However, we cannot assure you that this is or will continue to be the case. Consequently, we cannot assure you that a person who is a direct or indirect United States shareholder will not be required to include amounts in its income in respect of related person insurance income in any taxable year.

If a United States shareholder is treated as disposing of shares in a foreign insurance corporation that has related person insurance income and in which United States persons own 25% or more of the voting power or value of the entity’s capital stock, any gain from the disposition will generally be treated as a dividend to the extent of the United States shareholder’s portion of the corporation’s undistributed earnings and profits that were accumulated during the period that the United States shareholder owned the shares. In addition, the shareholder will be required to comply with certain reporting requirements, regardless of the amount of shares owned by the direct or indirect United States shareholder. Although not free from doubt, we believe these rules should not apply to dispositions of Class A ordinary shares because Greenlight Re is not directly engaged in the insurance business and because proposed United States Treasury regulations applicable to this situation appear to apply only in the case of shares of corporations that are directly engaged in the insurance business. We cannot assure you, however, that the IRS will interpret the proposed regulations in this manner or that the proposed regulations will not be promulgated in final form in a manner that would cause these rules to apply to dispositions of Class A ordinary shares.

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United States tax-exempt organizations who own Class A ordinary shares may recognize unrelated business taxable income.

If you are a United States tax-exempt organization you may recognize unrelated business taxable income if a portion of our subpart F insurance income is allocated to you. In general, subpart F insurance income will be allocated to you if we are a CFC as discussed above and you are a United States 10% shareholder or there is related person insurance income and certain exceptions do not apply. Although we do not believe that any United States persons will be allocated subpart F insurance income, we cannot assure you that this will be the case. If you are a United States tax-exempt organization, we advise you to consult your own tax advisor regarding the risk of recognizing unrelated business taxable income.

Change in United States tax laws may be retroactive and could subject us, and/or United States persons who own Class A ordinary shares to United States income taxation on our undistributed earnings.

The tax laws and interpretations regarding whether an entity is engaged in a United States trade or business, is a CFC, has related party insurance income or is a PFIC are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis. There are currently no regulations regarding the application of the passive foreign investment company rules to an insurance company and the regulations regarding related party insurance income are still in proposed form. New regulations or pronouncements interpreting or clarifying such rules may be forthcoming from the IRS. We are not able to predict if, when or in what form such guidance will be provided and whether such guidance will have a retroactive effect.

The impact of the initiative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to eliminate harmful tax practices is uncertain and could adversely affect our tax status in the Cayman Islands.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, has published reports and launched a global dialogue among member and non-member countries on measures to limit harmful tax competition. These measures are largely directed at counteracting the effects of tax havens and preferential tax regimes in countries around the world. Whilst the Cayman Islands was added to the list of jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard in August 2009 we are not able to predict if additional requirements will be imposed and if so whether changes arising from such additional requirements will subject us to additional taxes.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

On July 9, 2008, we entered into an operating lease agreement for new office space in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands which expires on June 30, 2018. We occupied the new office space in August 2009. Previously, we leased and occupied office space in Grand Cayman under an operating lease that expires on August 31, 2010. We do not expect to renew this lease upon it’s expiration in August 2010. We believe that for the foreseeable future the new office space will be sufficient for conducting our operations.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We are not party to any pending or threatened material litigation or arbitration and are not currently aware of any pending or threatened litigation. We anticipate that, similar to the rest of the reinsurance industry, we will be subject to litigation and arbitration in the ordinary course of business.

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to a vote of shareholders during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

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PART II

ITEM 5.

MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our Class A ordinary shares began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on May 24, 2007 under the symbol ‘‘GLRE’’. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low reported sale price per share of our Class A ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

	2009				2008
	High		Low		High		Low
First Quarter	$	17.26	$	11.32	$	21.46	$	16.30
Second Quarter	$	18.34	$	14.09	$	23.85	$	16.75
Third Quarter	$	19.45	$	16.51	$	23.50	$	15.80
Fourth Quarter	$	25.20	$	18.24	$	19.00	$	8.67

Holders

As of February 1, 2010, the number of holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares was approximately 30, not including beneficial owners of shares registered in nominee or street name, who represent approximately 95% of the Class A ordinary shares.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our Class A ordinary shares or Class B ordinary shares, or collectively, ordinary shares.

We currently do not intend to declare and pay dividends on our ordinary shares. However, if we decide to pay dividends, we cannot assure you sufficient cash will be available to pay such dividends. In addition, a letter of credit facility prohibits us from paying dividends during an event of default as defined in the letter of credit agreement. Our future dividend policy will also depend on the requirements of any future financing agreements to which we may be a party and other factors considered relevant by our Board of Directors, such as our results of operations and cash flows, our financial position and capital requirements, general business conditions, rating agency guidelines, legal, tax, regulatory and any contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends. Further, any future declaration and payment of dividends is discretionary and our Board of Directors may at any time modify or revoke our dividend policy on our ordinary shares. Finally, our ability to pay dividends also depends on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends to us. Although Greenlight Capital Re is not subject to any significant legal prohibitions on the payment of dividends, Greenlight Re is subject to Cayman Islands regulatory constraints that affect its ability to pay dividends and include a minimum net worth requirement. Currently the minimum statutory net worth requirement for Greenlight Re is $120,000, but subject to the discretion of CIMA. As of December 31, 2009, Greenlight Re exceeded the minimum statutory capital requirement by $730.0 million. Any dividends we pay will be declared and paid in U.S. dollars.

Performance Graph

Presented below is a line graph comparing the yearly percentage change in the cumulative total shareholder return on our Class A ordinary shares from May 24, 2007 (the date on which our Class A ordinary shares were first listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market) through December 31, 2009 against the total return index for the Russell 2000 Index, or RUT, and the A.M. Best’s Global Reinsurance Index, or AMBGR, for the same period. The performance graph assumes $100 invested on May 24, 2007 in the ordinary shares of Greenlight Capital Re, the RUT and the AMBGR. The performance graph also assumes that all dividends are reinvested.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

On August 5, 2008 the Company’s Board of Directors adopted a share repurchase plan authorizing the Company to purchase up to 2.0 million Class A ordinary shares. Shares may be purchased in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The plan, which expires on June 30, 2011, does not require the Company to repurchase any specific number of shares and may be modified, suspended or terminated at any time without prior notice. No repurchases of our Class A ordinary shares were made during the three months ended December 31, 2009. As of December 31, 2009, 1,771,100 shares remained authorized for repurchase under the plan.

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ITEM 6.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table sets forth our selected historical consolidated statement of income data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005, as well as our selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2005, which are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements. The audited consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and have been audited by BDO Seidman, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Since we commenced underwriting business in April 2006 and did not write any reinsurance contracts in 2005 and 2004, comparisons to periods prior to April 2006 may not be meaningful.

These historic results are not necessarily indicative of results for any future period. You should read the following selected financial data in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto contained in Item 8 ‘‘Financial Statements and Supplementary Data’’ and Item 7 ‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’’ included in this filing and all other information appearing elsewhere or incorporated into this filing by reference.

		Year Ended December 31,
		2009		2008			2007			2006				2005
		($ in thousands, except per share and share amounts)
Summary Consolidated Statement of Income Data
Gross premiums written	$	258,818		$	162,395		$	127,131		$	74,151		$	—
Net premiums earned		214,680			114,949			98,047			26,605			—
Net investment income (loss)		199,861			(126,126	)		27,642			58,509			27,934
Loss and loss adjustment expenses incurred, net		119,045			55,485			39,507			9,671			—
Acquisition costs, net		69,232			41,649			38,939			10,415			—
General and administrative expenses		18,994			13,756			11,918			9,063			2,992
Net income (loss)	$	209,545		$	(120,904	)	$	35,325		$	56,999		$	26,265
Earnings (Loss) Per Share Data (1)
Basic	$	5.78		$	(3.36	)	$	1.16		$	2.67		$	1.24
Diluted		5.71			(3.36	)		1.14			2.66			1.24
Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in the determination of
Basic		36,230,501			35,970,479			30,405,007			21,366,140			21,226,868
Diluted		36,723,552			35,970,479			30,866,016			21,457,443			21,265,801
Selected Ratios (based on U.S. GAAP Consolidated Statement of Income data)
Loss ratio (2)		55.4	%		48.3	%		40.3	%		36.4	%		—
Acquisition cost ratio (3)		32.3	%		36.2	%		39.7	%		39.1	%		—
Internal expense ratio (4)		8.8	%		12.0	%		12.2	%		34.1	%		—
Combined ratio (5)		96.5	%		96.5	%		92.2	%		109.6	%		—

Table of contents

		As of December 31,
		2009	2008		2007		2006		2005
		($ in thousands, except per share and share amounts)
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
Total investments	$	830,600	$	493,966	$	590,536	$	243,522	$	219,211
Cash and cash equivalents		31,717		94,144		64,192		82,704		7,218
Restricted cash and cash equivalents		590,871		248,330		371,607		154,720		99,719
Total assets		1,624,216		958,005		1,094,145		518,608		327,935
Loss and loss adjustment expense reserves		137,360		81,425		42,377		4,977		—
Unearned premium reserves		118,899		88,926		59,298		47,546		—
Total liabilities		894,978		466,565		488,563		206,441		96,113
Total shareholders' equity		729,238		491,440		605,582		312,167		231,822
Adjusted book value (6)	$	698,641	$	485,382	$	605,582	$	312,167	$	248,034
Diluted adjusted book value

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GREENLIGHT CAPITAL RE, LTD. - FORM 10-K - February 24, 2010