The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) registered 36 new insurers for H1 2014, a 6 percent increase from the 34 firms registered during the same period in 2013.
Some of the other specialised risks covered by Bermuda’s new captives include property cover for a fleet of seismic recording ships and product liability coverage for a company involved with the sourcing, manufacturing and sale of agricultural goods.
Shelby Weldon, director of licensing and authorisations at the authority, said: “On the insurance side, we have seen a number of innovative new vehicles being formed. In March 2014, the first ever African catastrophe insurance pool, [African Risk Capacity Insurance Company] was launched with much fanfare.”
“Bermuda beat out all other domiciles to be the home of this groundbreaking entity which will help African Union member states cope with the impact of extreme weather events and protect food insecure populations.”
New companies included: seven new captives; eight commercial insurers; five long-term (life) insurers; and 16 Special Purpose Insurers (SPIs).
This compares to nine new captives, two commercial insurers, three long-term firms and 20 SPIs registered in H1 2013. The BMA also registered eight intermediaries, an identical amount to the same period in 2013.
“It is good to see growth in the commercial and Long-Term sectors,” Weldon said.
“It is not surprising to see SPI registration numbers declining slightly. The authority is aware of a number of SPIs that are currently registered but which still have to activate because participants are waiting to enter the market at the right time.”
