The golden arches have returned to Bermuda – but this time as an insurance entity rather than a place to buy a happy meal.

Fast food giant McDonald’s has moved its global insurance operation to the island, reports The Irish Independent newspaper.

Golden Arches Insurance Company has been registered as a Class 2 captive insurer by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

The Irish unit, managed by Aon in Ireland, has managed McDonald’s global insurance unit for almost 30 years.

Once the Irish business has been run off, it will hand back its license to the Central Bank of Ireland, after which it is intended that the company will be placed in members’ voluntary liquidation.

The Irish Independent reports that the accounts for the business reveal that McDonald’s began a domicile review in 2019.

The newspaper said the accounts added: “It was subsequently confirmed that from July 1, 2020, McDonald’s property and general liability policies would be issued by Zurich and reinsured to McDonald’s insurance company in Bermuda.”

As a result, the Irish unit – Golden Arches Insurance – did not renew any of its policies after June 2020, and entered into a formal run-off following the expiration of its final active policy on June 30, 2021.

The Irish Independent reported that the accounts show that the insurance unit wrote gross premiums of just $612,000 last year as the business began to be wound down. That compared with $7.5 million in 2020.

It paid out $16.7 million in gross claims during 2021, which was down from the $25.3 million paid out in 2020.

The net claims paid out last year amounted to just under $14 million, after $2.7 million that was recoverable from reinsurers was factored in.

In 2020, the majority of the insurance division’s gross premiums were written for risks in Europe. That included $2.7 million written in relation to fire and damage to property in the region, as well as $4.8 million for third party liability.