Bermuda appears to be on pace for another strong year of insurance incorporations, nearly half of which are special purpose insurers (SPIs).

The Bermuda Monetary Authority yesterday showed nine new registration confirmations for the month of May, four of which were SPIs.

One of the larger companies is BTG Re Ltd., a Class 3B insurer. Companies registered in 3B are large commercial insurers whose percentage of unrelated business represents 50 percent or more of net premiums written or net loss and loss expense provisions and where the unrelated business net premiums are more than $50 million.

This brings the total number of registrations for the first five months of the year to 30, with 14 new SPIs registered in the 14 weeks from February to the end of May.

SPI’s meet the following criteria:

The insurer is carrying on insurance business in the area of insurance-linked securitizations;

The insurer is established to enter into a single transaction or a single set of transactions;

The insurer’s obligations are fully collateralised; and

Transactions are carried out with a limited number of sophisticated participants.

The Authority also registered eight intermediary companies, including two new brokers, three insurance management companies and three agents.

The next largest group of registrations for the five month period is the Class 3A group with six registrations. Class 3A companies are small commercial insurers whose percentage of unrelated business represents 50 percent or more of net premiums written or net loss and loss expense provisions and where the unrelated business net premiums are less than $50 million.

Five new captives were registered for the year so far including two Class 1 single parent captives underwriting solely the risks of the captive’s owners and the owner’s affiliates.

Class 1 insurers are required to maintain minimum capital and surplus of $120,000.

Three other registrations are Class 2 companies, which are multi-owner captives which are defined as insurance companies owned by unrelated entities, provided that the captive underwrites only the risks of the owners and affiliates of the owners and/or risks related to or arising out of the business or operations of the owners and affiliates.

A Class 2 license will also apply to single-parent and multi-owner captives writing no more than 20 percent of net premiums from risks which are not related to, or arising out of, the business or operations of their owners and affiliates.

Class 2 insurers are required to maintain minimum capital and surplus of $250,000.

Three Class C or long-term insurers made it to the register. Class C companies are long-term insurers and reinsurers with total assets of less than $250 million; and not registrable as a Class A or Class B insurer.