The Bermuda captive market maintained its attractiveness in 2017, with the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) reporting another active year and an increase in new registered captives from 13 in 2016 to 17 in 2017.
Jeremy Cox, BMA Chief Executive Officer said the majority of the new captives originated in the US but they also came from Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin America.
He added that “both Latin America and Canada have benefited from the business development efforts of the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) and we have accordingly seen heightened interest from those regions.”
Net premiums written by Bermuda’s captives amounted to US $54.7 billion last year, compared with US $55.3 billion year on-year.
According to the BMA, 2017 captives covered a diverse range of risks, from Canadian conglomerates writing general liability and workers compensation, to U.S. healthcare captives insuring nursing homes and medical stop loss cover for employees.
Commenting on the active year for the Bermudian captive industry, Cox said; “the BMA takes the role of gatekeeper to Bermuda’s re/insurance market very seriously and every application undergoes intense scrutiny.
“As supervisor, it is our job to ensure that Bermuda’s outstanding reputation as a financial services centre remains intact.
“Bermuda remains the world’s leader for captive formations, it’s not about the number of captives on the Bermuda register; it’s about the quality of the business being conducted here. That’s the Bermuda brand and the BMA will continue to apply the regulation needed to protect it.”
