Bermuda Logs 17 New Insurers In First Quarter

Bermuda Logs 17 New Insurers In First Quarter

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, April 8, 3:58 p.m. EDT?Seventeen new insurance ventures were set up and incorporated in Bermuda during the first quarter, which equaled the number of incorporations for the period in 2003, according to data released by the Insurance Division of the Bermuda Monetary Authority.[@@]

Among the 17 new carriers, ten belong to the captive sector, compared with 11 captives out of 17 ventures reported one year ago.

Among these Bermuda captives formed during the 2004 first quarter, there were three insurers that belong to what the Bermuda Monetary Authority categorizes as "Class One" ventures, which would only cover risks of their parent companies, while there were seven "Class Two" ventures, which can write up to 20 percent of their gross premiums written as unrelated to risks of parent corporations.

But so far this year in Bermuda, there has been no formation of "Class Four" carriers?the highly capitalized ventures licensed to write direct-excess liability as well as property-casualty insurance and reinsurance.

In 2003, Bermuda registered 89 new insurance ventures in total, and that number is about what the Bermuda insurance authorities are expecting for the current year as well, according to a representative from the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

"Usually our ballpark expectation would be in the 90s. There have been years when we had exceeded that and had gone into 100s," the spokesperson noted.