Tokio Millennium Re Ltd (TMR) has become the seventh Bermuda reinsurer to be approved for lower collateral requirements by the state of Florida.The company, a subsidiary of Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co Ltd, will now be able to post 20 percent of loss reserves rather than the 100 percent required by most non-US reinsurers.TMR joins Hannover Re Bermuda, Ace Tempest Re, XL Re, Hiscox Bermuda, PartnerRe and RenaissanceRe as approved non-US reinsurers in Florida, as well as one from outside Bermuda, Hannover Ruckversicherung AG.The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation considers reinsurers for this approval after they undergo a selective application process which requires them to have capital and surplus of at least $100 million, proof of financial strength by at least two nationally recognised rating organisations, and evidence of continued financial soundness and stability.Florida’s policy effectively lowers the barriers of entry into the market for non-US reinsurers. Its actions have raised hopes in the industry that other US states will follow suit.New York has brought in similar reduced collateral requirements for approved reinsurers, one of which is XL Re.Tatsuhiko Hoshina, TMR’s president and chief executive officer said: “I am very pleased with the decision by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and that our financial strength has been recognised by the regulator.“We endeavour to obtain similar status in other states and hope that more US states will agree to lower the collateral requirements for foreign reinsurers.”TMR was originally established in Bermuda in 2000 to act as a strategic risk diversifier for the Tokio Marine Nichido group by writing property and casualty reinsurance business outside Japan.