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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
HAMILTON, Bermuda—Thirty-one insurance companies registered in Bermuda during the first half of the year, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
That compares with 36 companies for all of 2010, the BMA said Monday.
More special-purpose insurers were formed during the first half of 2011 than all of 2010, BMA CEO Jeremy Cox said in a statement announcing the activity. SPIs are insurance entities that conduct special-purpose business for a specific period of time.
“We have already seen 12 new SPIs registered this year,” said Mr. Cox. “This compares to eight SPI registrations for the whole of 2010.”
For example, he said it was “exciting” that the board of the California Earthquake Authority this month approved a $150 million catastrophe bond. The residential earthquake insurer did so via Embarcadero Reinsurance Ltd., a Bermuda-based SPI.
Catastrophes boosting registration
Shelby Weldon, the BMA’s director of insurance, licensing & authorization, said in the statement that most of the new SPIs were being formed in relation to the record-setting level of global catastrophes experienced during the first half of 2011. He added that insurance registrations to date also are reflecting new business in the captive and commercial insurance sectors of the Bermuda market.
Mr. Cox said there also has been some good news from Europe.
“The most recent positive endorsement of the BMA's commitment to effective, quality risk-based supervision is the third-country equivalence assessment report” by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority this month. “In this report, EIOPA indicates that Bermuda’s regime for commercial insurers meets the criteria for Solvency II equivalence, with certain caveats,” he said.
“This is a great step in the right direction for Bermuda,” Mr. Cox said.
HAMILTON, Bermuda—The number of captive insurance companies in Bermuda dropped slightly in 2010, but their gross written premiums increased 66% to $32.6 billion, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority.