Irish-born Thomas McMahon was yesterday elected president of the Bermuda Insurance Management Association (BIMA), the umbrella organisation for captive insurance management companies in Bermuda.

The emplacement of a new BIMA Executive Committee came at the annual general meeting of the organisation that has more than 40 member companies.

Mr. McMahon, president of Cedar Management Ltd., succeeds Peter Willitts, who is president of Liberty Management, and who will remain on the Executive Committee.

Mr. McMahon holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree from University College, Galway, Ireland and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. He is president and a shareholder of Cedar Management, a USA Risk Group Company. USA Risk Group is the world's largest independent captive management company.

Prior to joining Cedar in 1994, Mr. McMahon served as the financial compliance manager at Ace Insurance (1993-1994) and as an audit manager with Coopers & Lybrand in Bermuda (1988-1993). Since joining the company in 1994, he has been actively involved in the establishment and management of single parent and group captives and segregated account companies.

"I'm delighted to take over from Peter's able leadership," Mr. McMahon said. "Over the last term we have seen a number of issues come to the fore that we must address. I'm happy to be joined by a strong Executive Committee, representing the many leading companies in the captive management field.

"Bermuda has been blessed with strong companies and a wealth of intellectual capacity, providing the corporate community with dynamic risk transfer solutions in an increasingly complex world.

The Island remains at the forefront of alternative market products and captive insurance is an important part of that."

BIMA is an association of professional insurance management companies in Bermuda. It exists to protect the interests of its members and their clients. The clients under management consist mainly of captives but also include large mutuals, rent-a-captives and commercial insurers and reinsurers.

BIMA's principal role is to liaise with the Bermuda Government and other bodies on matters affecting the insurance industry.