The total number of new insurers registered in Bermuda fell from a decade-long high of 80 in 2022 to 62 in 2023, the latest Bermuda Monetary Authority statistics show.

A year ago, the BMA reported that the addition of 15 registrations in December 2022 had taken the year’s total of new registrants to 84, well above the 2021 total of 65, and the highest total registration since 2014, when 93 were registered.

Of the 2022 total, 80 were insurers and four were intermediaries, the highest number of total registration since 2013, when 91 were added to the BMA’s books.

This past December, five restricted special-purpose insurers were among eight insurance company registrations confirmed by the BMA, taking the yearly total of new insurers to 62, together with five intermediaries.

Easton Re Ltd, Ocelot Re Ltd, Rouen Re Ltd, Bonito Re Ltd and Arachne (SAC) Re Ltd were registered in the restricted SPI category.

CatX Ltd was registered in the Innovative Intermediary – IMP category; Transamerica Bermuda Re Ltd was registered in Class E; and Resolution Life US Re Ltd was registered in Class C.

Seventeen insurance applications were reviewed in December by the Insurance Assessment and Licensing Committee, comprising of 15 new applications and two applications that had been carried forward.

Twelve were approved by the IALC, four were deferred and one was withdrawn.

The BMA noted that the registration/licensing of approved insurance entities is issued after the IALC application process and may be confirmed in future periods.

Leading the way for 2022 were 24 special purpose insurers, which are primarily used in the burgeoning insurance-linked security market.