Life reinsurance company Beechwood Re has set up a Bermuda-based affiliate, the company announced today.

Beechwood Bermuda International Ltd will be headed by chief operating officer and head of underwriting Graham Mackay, who has joined Beechwood from Ernst & Young.

The new company will be based in Cumberland House, 1 Victoria Street, Hamilton, will support both Beechwood’s reinsurance business that provides capacity to life, health, and annuity insurance companies and Beechwood’s wealth management business that offers direct-written investment products to non-US investors.

David Lessing, executive vice-president of Beechwood, said the new office “represents an important next step in Beechwood’s commitment to offering unique solutions for our clients. It allows us to more effectively leverage the world-class infrastructure and expertise available in Bermuda.”

Mr Mackay has provided reinsurance solutions and services to clients for more than 30 years, covering the full range of products written by life and annuity insurers in key global markets.

At Ernst & Young, he led the firm’s Life Reinsurance Practice serving clients in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the US.

Before working for EY, he held senior management and technical roles with global reinsurers including Mercantile & General Reinsurance, Lincoln Reinsurance, ING Reinsurance, Imagine Re, and Duncanson & Holt and established Milliman’s life actuarial practice.

Mr Mackay is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.