1) B E R M U D A
THE WORLD’S
RISK C A PI TA L
Bermuda’s long-respected
risk industry comprises
leading insurance and
reinsurance companies,
captive insurers, and
alternative reinsurance
vehicles in converging
capital and risk markets.
Bermuda’s captive insurance
industry is the global
leader, with more than 800
companies generating over
$20 billion in annual gross
written premiums. The Island
Connecting Business
is also one of the world’s top
three reinsurance centres,
with New York and London,
and home to 15 of the top
40 reinsurers worldwide.
Recently, the jurisdiction has
attracted the lion’s share of
alternative capital vehicles—
insurance-linked securities,
catastrophe bonds, and
other risk-transfer products.
Bermuda is the world’s single
most important property
and catastrophe market.
Over the last decade, our
insurers and reinsurers
have contributed $35 billion
to US catastrophe losses
alone. They also provide
26 percent of capacity for
Lloyd’s of London—a total
of £6.6 billion.
2) INSURANCE & REINSURANCE
The Bermuda market has more
than 100 firms with financial
strength ratings, many of which
are publicly-traded insurance
companies. It is known for its
innovation and ability to deliver
risk-management products
demanded by the world’s leading
corporations. In so doing,
Bermuda carriers support global
industry and commerce.
Bermuda companies have an
unparalleled excellence in global
risk financing, demonstrated
breadth of products, depth of
experience and financial strength
and stability. In response to
challenging economic times
and catastrophic events, the
Bermuda market continually
launches innovative insurance
and reinsurance products and
provides much-needed capacity.
During the excess liability
insurance market crunch in the
1980s, ACE and XL were formed
to provide solutions that grew
the market. The ’80s also saw the
creation of segregated account
companies out of Bermuda.
of Bermuda Insurers & Reinsurers
(ABIR) and the Bermuda
Insurance & Reinsurance
Brokers Association (BIRBA),
demonstrating Bermuda’s
commitment to international
best practices and serves
to protect the interests
of both (re)insurers
and (re)insureds.
In the 1990s, Bermuda reacted
to the collapse of reinsurance
capacity to cover hurricane
risks post-Hurricane Andrew
by creating several new and
highly capitalised catastrophe
reinsurance companies. Many
other (re)insurance companies
were established in response
to 9/11 and post-millennium
hurricanes Katrina, Rita,
Wilma and Ike.
Bermuda market companies
move quickly to settle and pay
claims from existing capacity
and to create new capacity to
meet future needs. A ‘Contract
Certainty Code of Practice’ was
developed by the Association
Contributions of
Bermuda carriers:
ontributed $35 billion to US catastrophe
C
losses (2001–2012)
aid $22 billion to rebuild US Gulf
P
and Florida coasts after 2004/05
hurricane seasons
aid nearly 30% of insured losses from
P
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma
aid 9% of US 9/11 claims
P
overed 22% of estimated $1billion
C
market loss for 2009 Air France crash
aid 51% of reported liabilities from 2010
P
New Zealand earthquake
aid 37% of Chile’s 2010 earthquake
P
overed 29% of reported liabilities for
C
international reinsured share of 2011
Japanese earthquake
overed 50% of reported losses for 2012
C
Costa Concordia cruise liner sinking
upport 25% of US medical liability
S
insurance and reinsurance market
3) CAPTIVE INSURANCE
A captive is an insurance company
whose primary purpose is the financing
of the risks of its owners, which are usually
not insurance companies. Captives can be used
to provide coverage directly or as reinsurance
of primary or fronting insurers. They are licensed
insurance companies that operate under a different
regulatory system than commercial insurers.
ermuda’s risk management
B
industry developed the captive
concept during the 1960s. The
same ability to innovate and be
creative continues today.
The United States is the largest
source of captive business
for Bermuda, accounting for
some 60 percent of the Island’s
insurance formations. Captives
are used to insure and reinsure
healthcare, general liability,
auto liability, employee benefits,
property, marine and other
programmes.
New source markets have
emerged in Latin America,
Canada, Asia Pacific, Africa and
Australia as companies moderate
traditional insurance-buying
practices and increase their use
of self-insurance and alternative
risk-financing mechanisms.
Bermuda is home to almost 250
companies from Latin America
across multiple sectors.
Notably, some of the largest
companies in Latin America
have formed captives and other
investment vehicles on the
Island, including Colombia’s
Ecopetrol, Pacifico Rubiales, and
the Carvajal Group. Nearly two-
thirds of all Latin America-owned
captives in the world are being
formed in Bermuda.
The presence of commercial
insurance and reinsurance
companies in Bermuda allows
captive owners and operators
to access open-market
underwriting capacity not
found in any other captive
domicile, making Bermuda
a one-stop shop.
TYPES OF CAPTIVES
Single parent captive
Group captive
Special Purpose Insurer (SPI)
egregated Accounts
S
Company (SAC)
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
CAPTIVE ADVANTAGES
aptives can help reduce
C
the cost of insurance
programmes by mitigating or
avoiding commercial insurers’
administrative overhead and
recapturing underwriting profits
and investment income.
captive owner can benefit
A
from its own individual loss
experience rather than pay
premiums based on industrywide losses or perceptions.
captive earns investment
A
income on loss reserves and
retained premiums.
epending on its mix of business
D
and ownership structure, a
captive may offer tax-planning
advantages.
aptives can centralise the
C
financial and administrative
operations of a corporate
insurance programme, bringing
greater loss-prevention control.
aptives have access to
C
reinsurance markets—an
avenue that a company may use
to obtain wholesale premium
rates, which primary insurers
cannot offer.
aptives can be used as vehicles
C
for funding the exposures
a company decides to selfinsure, or for which commercial
insurance cover is unavailable
or uneconomical.
s a captive matures and its
A
surplus increases, it will develop
a greater capacity to retain risk.
The increased surplus will enable
companies to be less reliant on
commercial markets.
4) HEALTHCARE CAPTIVES
The Bermuda market is a leading
provider of healthcare coverage. With
local capacity in the jurisdiction to
write up to $400 million for any single
risk, a solid track record of paying
claims, and some 40 professionals
writing healthcare insurance and
reinsurance for a full spectrum
of entities, the Island has seen
substantial growth in the sector over
the past five years. Bermuda provides
a diverse menu of healthcare risk
solutions, catering to everything from
stand-alone hospitals and long-term
care, to fully integrated healthcare
delivery systems, and countrywide,
for-profit hospital chains. Bermuda
has become the market of choice for
healthcare liability insurance buyers
due to its capacity, contract certainty,
and ability to create new products in
response to the market’s needs.
INSURANCE-LINKED
SECURITIES (ILS)
The accumulation of reinsurance
expertise combined with Bermuda’s
successful alternate investment
fund industry has made Bermuda
the leading jurisdiction for the
convergence of capital and (re)
insurance markets.
More than half of the world’s
Insurance-Linked Securities ($16
billion) are now listed in Bermuda
and there is continued interest
in third-party, capital-backed
reinsurer start-ups.
Collaboration among industry
participants led to a fit-for-purpose
designation in 2009 of the Special
Purpose Insurer (SPI) within the
Bermuda Monetary Authority’s
insurance supervisory structure, with
SPIs representing an efficient means
to issue ILS such as catastrophe bonds.
The BMA has been proactive in
ensuring the regulatory framework
governing this sector is appropriate,
sensible and robust and has taken
steps to increase efficiency, and
reduce incorporation time and costs.
About the BDA
The Bermuda Business
Development Agency (BDA)
encourages direct investment
and helps companies start up,
re-locate or expand their business
in Bermuda. An independent,
public-private partnership, we
connect prospective business to
industry professionals, regulatory
officials, and key contacts in the
Bermuda government to facilitate
jurisdictional decision-making.
BDA Business
Concierge Service
We offer a Business Concierge
Service to partner with companies
seeking to establish operations
in the jurisdiction. Our team is a
single point of contact to connect
clients with industry, government,
regulatory officials, and services
such as realtors, law firms,
auditors and relocation experts.
Our Concierge is also available to
existing Bermuda companies.
Considering Bermuda as your base for business?
Contact us to arrange an initial consultation so
we can begin to get things moving for you.
Maxwell Roberts Building, 6th Floor
1 Church Street
Hamilton HM 11
Bermuda
+ 1 441 292 0632
info@bda.bm
www.bda.bm