Guernsey-based Wilde & Co. Group for a new Guernsey branch operation for Mutual Indemnity (Bermuda) Ltd. (MIL) and a new captive operation, Mutual Risk Management (Guernsey) Ltd.

MRM (Guernsey), will provide traditional captive management operations and handle the promotion and administration of the branch operation of MIL, an alternative market provider.

MIL will offer its facilities to clients of brokers, agents and corporate risk managers, with programmes designed to return underwriting profits and investment income to its clients, who are also insureds.

Advantages over the traditional captive approach include reduced operational costs, no need for capital and minimal time and effort required from the parent company in dealing with company affairs.

Wilde & Co. Insurance Managers Ltd., part of independent Guernsey fiduciaries Wilde & Co. Group, will manager MRM (Guernsey) and assist in the overall market activity.

Simon Scupham, responsible for MRM's global captive operations, said, "Guernsey is one of the world's larger and faster growing captive insurance centres. It has an excellent infrastructure and is well regulated. Guernsey is popular with clients in the UK and to a lesser extent, other countries within Europe.

"We are very pleased to be working with Wilde & Co. Insurance Managers in this important group development.'' Wilde & Co. director, Charles Scott, foresees a long and mutually beneficial business relationship with MRM, while chairman, Alan Wilde, said the venture comes from the flexibility offered by independence, plus a proactive view on the development of insurance needs.

Superintendent of Insurance in Guernsey Steve Butterworth welcomed the development, noting, "MRM are very well known to me from their operations in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. Their programmes appear to be well structured and their arrival can only benefit the Guernsey insurance market. They arrive at a time when protected cell legislation is being put into place which specifically facilitates rent-a-captive operations in Guernsey.'' Listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1991, MRM is a world leader in providing risk management services to clients seeking an alternative to traditional commercial insurance.

The alternative market includes both self insurance and captive insurance programmes, and is one of the fastest growing segments of the insurance industry. Apart from operations in Bermuda and the US, MRM also has offices in Barbados, Cayman, Dublin, London and Vermont.