Amlin, the largest independent insurer in the Lloyd?s of London market, officially opened the doors of its new $1 billion Bermuda reinsurer last Thursday.

On the very same day, it closed ?a good handful? of deals, said Amlin Bermuda underwriting director John Andrews, in an interview with The Royal Gazette that afternoon.

This puts Amlin ahead of some other new insurers scrambling to get a foothold in the Bermuda market, by a hair, with a flock of new companies all expecting to be up and running by January 1.

Amlin, which announced it was eyeing a move into the Bermuda market months ago, is one of at least 12 major insurers and reinsurers setting up on the Island to take advantage of an expected upward turn in premium pricing after the sector was hit by the largest losses ever.

Amlin?s London operation, which sells multiple lines of reinsurance policies across geographic areas, took estimated losses of around $212 million.

London financial analysts who follow Amlin are still predicting the company will turn a profit for the year.

Chief executive Charles Philipps, who was on the Island last week, said he can?t comment on how Amlin may do financially for the full year, for regulatory reasons, but did say he expected Amlin would record a ?good financial performance in 2005?.

?We are in a minority within the London market because we are still expecting to return a healthy return on equity,? he said.

Lloyd?s announced last week that more than $5 billion in losses from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma was expected to come out of the London market.

But Mr. Philipps said unprecedented storm activity in 2005, as well as in 2004, had not proven to be ?a capital event? for Amlin as it has been for numerous others in the sector, with some companies seeing up to 60 percent of shareholders? equity wiped out.

Amlin has ?1 billion ($1.7 billion) in its London operation, and has strengthened that with the $1 billion of capital in Bermuda.

The industry is bracing for total claims in the region of $80 billion, from the 2005 storms. And 2004 storm activity is estimated to have cost insurers and reinsurers another $22.9 million, according to statistics from the Insurance Information Institute, an industry body that crunches data for the sector.

Because of the size of the losses many companies have had to raise capital, both to replace what has been lost and to have enough capital on hand to be able to sell more policies at the expected higher pricing when most renewals are made on January 1.

Most of the capital, by estimates about $15 billion, has flowed into Bermuda both to back the dozen ventures forming and to replenish coffers at established companies.

Amlin?s Mr. Philipps said the state of the market made this an ideal time for the company to establish its Bermuda unit, which is expected to become key to the whole operation.

?We are looking at Bermuda as a long-term play,? he said. ?We?ve had a desire for some time to establish another business to complement what we do in Lloyd?s but it has been a question of timing.?

Like rival Hiscox, which is also in the midst of setting up its own Bermuda unit (see separate story in today?s paper), Amlin has secured temporary space in the IAS Building on Church Street. IAS is also doing some of the back office work for Amlin, Hiscox and at least three other new start-ups ? Cyrus Re, Lancashire and Validus.

While Amlin originally expected to establish its Bermuda unit some time in 2006, and with a fraction of the $1 billion in capital it is now putting in, the decision was made to move quickly, and to be big from the start, when market conditions showed signs of strengthening.

?As an absolutely fundamental underwriting principle we do not like chasing business when prices are getting weaker and weaker. That only leads to losses and we are not in (that)business...,? Mr. Philipps said.

Amlin Bermuda is selling property and catastrophe reinsurance policies, quite likely the contracts in greatest demand right now. And the company is aiming to achieving a diverse portfolio geographically, in keeping with its approach in London.

?Our Lloyd?s operation is one of the most diversified in the market not only in terms of the [types] of business we write ? from commercial motor to horses ? but is also well spread geographically. wWhat we are aiming to achieve is a similarly well-diversified reinsurance account in Bermuda.?

While Amlin will sell fewer types of policies in Bermuda than it does in London, it may not always be so.

?We have not ruled out anything,? Mr. Philipps said. ?We like to set out to deliver what we said we would. To put one foot steadily in front of another.

?We are focused on achieving our business plan for 2006. Obviously we?d like to see how that goes, and look to expand the business in 2007.?

Mr. Philipps doesn?t expect the group will become a casualty-focused company.

?As a group we are a short-tail-biased business. Yes, we do some casualty business but it is a small proportion of the overall business, and we are unlikely to change that,? he said.

At least four of the new Bermuda insurers being formed currently are being sponsored by companies, or have management, out of the London market ? Amlin, Hiscox, Lancashire and Omega.

Amlin and Hiscox, the largest Lloyd?s companies to set up Bermuda units, are friendly rivals, Mr. Philipps says.

Mr. Andrews, who has worked for 25 years in Lloyds, is to be the head of the Bermuda operation. He is no stranger to the Island having come on business frequently, including visits to Amlin clients Argus and BF&M, the Island?s largest domestic insurers.

Mr. Andrews is being joined by several other Amlin staff, underwriter Ben Savill and assistant underwriters Lisa O?Toole and Sophie Chapman. All are on temporary work permits at the moment.

Additional staff are to be hired. ?We?d like to staff up, hopefully on the Island,? Mr. Philipps said. He predicted Amlin Bermuda could grow to about 15 employees by the end of next year.