After being acquired by one of the largest wholesale brokers in the world three years ago, Amwins Bermuda is now in a recruitment phase.

They recently increased staff from four to ten, five of whom are Bermudian. And they expect employee numbers to double soon.

“Two of our new hires are young Bermudians who were working for Amwins in the United States,” said Amwins Bermuda chief executive officer Alan Mooney. “They did not even know that there was an Amwins office in Bermuda. They were more than happy to move back home.”

"We have an alternative risk transfer focus,“ Mr Mooney said. As they expand into more traditional lines, the company leadership sees prudence in investing in Bermuda and Bermudians.

To accommodate growth, the company recently moved into new offices at Cumberland House on Victoria Street. There is a wellness room, state-of-the-art furniture and equipment, and a small putting green.

“We could not put the hole for the ball too deep into the floor because the landlords were worried that the sound of the ball going in would bother the people downstairs,” Mr Mooney explained.

International Specialty Brokers was doing well, operating mostly under the radar while doing a mix of business, before being acquired by Amwins as of January 2021.

“We have grown at least fivefold in the last four or five years as the market has been changing,” Mr Mooney said. “The market was going through a more difficult cycle, which meant there was less available capacity in the US for our customers, which caused them to come here or go to London to try to get more capacity.”

Being acquired by Amwins was a huge confidence boost.

“We had traded with them for many years,” the CEO said. “We took it as a statement that they wanted to plant their flag in Bermuda.”

Parliament has passed legislation enacting a 15 per cent corporate income tax regime, effective next January, applicable to Bermuda businesses that are part of multinational enterprise groups with annual revenue of €750 million (about $803 million) or more.

Mr Mooney did not think the CIT was an issue for his company because they pay taxes in the United States.

“It would be more of an issue for companies headquartered here,” he said.

He said Amwins, a firm that places $35 billion of premium with insurance companies, is here for the long term because Bermuda is such a huge insurance marketplace.

“We get business from Amwins people in the United States, and we also get business from retail brokers,” Mr Mooney said. “Bermuda is such a broad market that Amwins can offer solutions to all sorts of client needs.”

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, Mr Mooney has lived in Bermuda for more than 30 years.

“During that time there have been various threats to the business environment including tax threats, or changes that might happen in the United States or even the EU,” he said.

He said when Bermuda introduced payroll tax, some firms decided it was cheaper to outsource certain services.

“People were worried about what that was going to mean for Bermuda long term,” he said. “The key indicator is that the decision-makers are still here. The CEOs and the senior underwriters are all still here. This is where the business is being traded.”