Bermuda is increasingly taking up global special purpose insurer (SPI) and insurance linked security (ILS) business, according to September 2012 insurer registrations.
For the first nine months of 2012, the Bermuda Monetary Authority registered SPI’s with total premiums of $595 million—this includes four SPIs underwriting more than $1.2 billion of cat bonds.
Shelby Weldon, director of licensing and authorisations at the authority, said: “Registrations are sustaining similar levels from last year across all classes. Fifteen SPIs had registered in Bermuda by the end of September 2012—one registration higher than the same period last year. A total of 33 new insurers registered during the first three quarters of 2012—the authority registered 35 firms during the same period in 2011.”
“We are seeing continued momentum and high levels of market interest in the SPI and ILS spaces. This supports reports from industry that Bermuda is emerging as an innovative centre for this type of business due to the wide variety of SPI uses we are starting to see develop.”
So far, a total of 36 ILS deals have been listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), making up approximately one-third of global market issuance. The market capitalisation of Bermuda-listed ILS has jumped from $3 billion at the end of 2011 to $5 billion through the first half of 2012.
The world’s largest cat bond deal took place in Bermuda in Q2 2012, when Everglades Re underwrote $750 million in cat bonds for Florida Citizens Property Insurance. And SPI’s are starting to complement the traditional insurance models.
“As well as the much spoken of cat bond SPI’s, we are seeing a wide range of SPI uses this year,” Weldon added. “From property catastrophe reinsurance like European windstorm and Florida hurricane coverage, to excess of loss and industry loss warranty coverage, we are starting to see a lot of innovative uses in the SPI space.”
