With the international business sector now representing 29 per cent of the island’s economic activity, the Government is looking to grow it even further through diversification.

“We began with captive insurance, then went into more traditional property and casualty and we have expanded beyond that into long-term insurance,” Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour said at the opening of the Bermuda Risk Summit today at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.

He said Bermuda was poised to take advantage of a growing market for parametric insurance in Africa.

This type of insurance offers predetermined payouts based upon a trigger event, which could be a specified wind speed or amount of rainfall. One advantage over traditional insurance is that payouts happen much faster.

During a chat with Kendaree Burgess, the managing director of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, Mr Hayward also addressed the impact of the island’s housing crisis on business.

“Housing is a new speed bump,” Mr Hayward said. “The Government understands that in order for us to attract capital, we need to ensure that we can house that capital.”

He said the Government was making a concerted effort to ensure that they increased housing capacity in the City of Hamilton.

“We want more people to live, work and play in the city,” he said. “If you look at the revised city plans, they are much more flexible in terms of residential housing capacity than the previous plans were.”

Mr Hayward said the development of public sector housing would continue and a minister responsible for housing had been appointed.

He added: “We are also looking at ways to reduce some of the costs for persons who want to develop our housing infrastructure.”

He said that increasing global strife had made Bermuda a more attractive business destination because of its relative stability.

“Bermuda has positioned itself as a safe, trusted jurisdiction,” he said. “It is viewed favourably by companies looking to domicile here.”

He said Bermuda’s regulatory clarity, legal certainty, financial system and capacity were all pluses for global firms looking to set up or to expand here.

When he goes on the road to speak with business owners, he often finds Bermuda ticks all the boxes.

“It is like the movie, Jerry Maguire,” he said. “They say ‘you had me at hello’. Bermuda sells itself.”

Mr Hayward said his ministry was looking at how the island could cater to an ever changing global environment.

“With the work that we have done with digital assets, we actually created a regulatory environment that is appreciated by companies operating in that space,” he said.

“We not only want to provide climate risk insurance, but then also provide financial vehicles in which companies can invest and know that their money is going towards climate-related initiatives.”

The Bermuda Risk Summit continues tomorrow and Wednesday.