London-based investment manager Securis had five entities registered in Bermuda during April, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s monthly insurance incorporation statistics.

The registrations were special purpose insurers (SPIs) Securis Re I Ltd, Securis Re III Ltd and Securis Re IV Ltd, as well as intermediary entities Securis ILS Management Ltd, an agent, and Securis ILS Management Ltd, a manager.

Securis Investment Partners LLP describes itself as one of the larger insurance-linked securities (ILS) managers in Europe.

Currently based in London’s insurance district, they state on their website: “In the particular instance of property catastrophe reinsurance risk, Securis is of the opinion that alternative capital will continue to make inroads into the share of the market held by traditional incumbents.

“Securis think that this shift partly comes as a result of the collateralised solution that the ILS market ordinarily provides to the protection buyer, in contrast to the traditional solution whereby the buyer usually bears perhaps undesirable counterpart credit risk.”

They say their goal is “to deliver capital appreciation, low volatility and low correlation to traditional asset classes by investing in insurance related assets, particularly ILS.”

Securis forecast the ILS market will “evolve and grow and ... that the industry will continue to see a shift in insurance risks from companies’ balance sheets to the capital markets.”

Securis was established in response to their observation that there appeared to be a growing need for alternative capital to support many forms of insurance risk, they state on their website. “Cedents were increasingly encouraged by regulatory and rating agencies, among others, to look to cede risks in to the capital markets, while investors were perceived to increasingly look for diversifying sources of return.

“At the same time, there was relatively little by way of competitor businesses specialising in the ILS space.”

The Securis registrations made up five of a total of 12 during the month of April. There were another three SPIs registered — Citrus Re Ltd, Kilimanjaro Re Ltd, and Market Re Ltd.

Other registrations included a class 1 insurer — Pamlico Insurance Company Ltd, and a class 2 insurer, Maritime Insurance Solutions Ltd.

XL Life Reinsurance (SAC) Ltd, which the XL Group has agreed to sell to Bermuda-based GreyCastle Holdings Ltd, registered as a class C.

Also, newly registered intermediaries were GAR Bermuda Ltd, an agent, and Shoreline Managers Ltd, a manager.

In March the online alternative risk transfer website Artemis reported that Securis would be opening offices in Bermuda and Australia this year.

“Securis is currently based out of its London offices, although its employees spend a lot of time in Bermuda given the market’s key role in property catastrophe reinsurance,” its story said.

Artemis said in its March story that Securis planned to expand its collateralised reinsurance infrastructure into Bermuda. “The firm uses cell structures and reinsurance vehicles in Guernsey, and will continue to do so, but it is currently seeking Bermuda Monetary Authority approval for a special purpose reinsurance vehicle and an insurance manager, giving it a larger platform for underwriting collateralised reinsurance covers.”

Now Securis SPIs have been established.

Artemis also said: “By establishing a Bermuda office Securis is seeking to position itself closer to one of the key reinsurance trading markets.

“It is a further sign of the importance of collateralised reinsurance in ILS that managers want to be close to trading partners and where the risk originates. Securis feels being close to the source of many of its key business partners in the US and Bermuda will help to grow its relationships and ultimately the origination side of its business.”

Securis is scheduled to open its Bermuda office for business at the beginning of May, and senior non-life originator at Securis Paul Larrett, who was previously at Montpelier Re, will move to Bermuda to open the office here “in time for the key midyear reinsurance renewals when much of the Florida and US catastrophe business is renewed”.