Bermuda maintained its position as the premier jurisdiction for captives last year, with a total of 715 captives writing gross premiums of approximately $40 billion, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

Twenty-two new captives registered in 2019, compared to 19 the previous year.

Craig Swan, deputy chief executive officer of the BMA, said: “The majority of the 2019 captives originated from the US, but five also came from Canada.

“As well as North America, new registrations came from Asia, Europe and Africa. Seven long-term captives registered during 2019, an increase year-on-year.

“There was not any one predominant line of business being written by the new captives. We saw a variety of property, casualty and long-term business types registering.”

The BMA registered a total of 69 new insurance entities last year, including 58 new (re)insurers and 11 intermediaries. Of that number, there was one new Class 4 insurer, Convex Re Ltd.

Captives and special purpose insurers accounted for over 70 per cent of (re)insurance registrations, while 15 commercial insurers were registered.

Of the 58 registrations, 45 (re)insurers underwrote general business exposure, while 13 underwrote long-term business.

In a statement, the BMA said: “These 2019 registrations reinforced the continued significance of Bermuda’s (re)insurance market, comprised of over 1,200 (re)insurers holding total assets in excess of $800 billion and writing gross premium of approximately $150 billion.”