Montpelier Re will not be expanding out of Bermuda, but will instead focus on efficient underwriting on-Island, said the company's president and chief executive officer Anthony Taylor.

Speaking yesterday at the official launch of the secondary listing of the new insurance company on the Bermuda Stock Exchange, Mr. Taylor reaffirmed his company's commitment to Bermuda, and the company's chairman and insurance guru Jack Byrne revealed that the company would grow from its present staff of about 40 to over 50 in the future.

Speaking about the listing, Mr. Byrne, who was instrumental in setting up the company post the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, said the listing on the BSX was an important move in becoming part of the Bermuda business establishment.

“The most important thing it means is to demonstrate once again that we are permanent member of the Bermuda business community and intend to stay that way,” he said. “It also gives another way to trade the stock. We are already on the New York Stock Exchange... I think the NYSE broke a lot of their standard rules and guidelines to get Tony and the company as an early listing on the NYSE.”

Montpelier Re became the youngest company ever to list on the NYSE in October last year. The company was incorporated in Bermuda on November 14, 2001 and was part of a new wave of insurance companies to come to the Island as part of a capital crunch following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Speaking about the BSX listing, which came into effect in May this year, Mr. Byrne said: “The most important thing is we think it is important to demonstrate we are part of the Bermuda business community.”

Mr. Taylor reiterated his company, which occupies two floors at Mintflower Place on Par-la-Ville Road in Hamilton, was committed to the Island.

“What I would like to say to you is that of all the Bermuda start-ups, we are the only one that is dedicated to underwriting all its business with one office in Bermuda,” said Mr Taylor. “We haven't set up underwriting offices in London, and Dublin and in the US, we are just here. We have 40 staff at the moment, and 70 percent of those are actually Bermudian. We have done very well in recruiting our team.”

Mr. Byrne said he did not think the number of staff in Bermuda would grow dramatically. He added: “It may well get to 50 people, or 55 people, but it is not likely to go beyond that. Tony wants everybody taking business... underwriting business to be in the same room. It is quite convenient to set up an office in Dublin or Singapore, I have such offices with my other companies. Tony likes everybody taking business to be centralised together. We, the owners, think that that is sensational.”

Mr. Taylor explained: “It is a volatile business and underwriting discipline is very important and it's pretty difficult with time differences, different cultures, different systems and create offices around the world and have that single-minded underwriting policy.”

Mr. Byrne said that the investors were “thrilled” with the way Mr. Taylor had run the company and he planned to stay on as someone who raised and invested money for the company.

“We (the investors) put in about $1 billion 13 to 15 months ago and it is already worth $2 billion, speaking in grand chairman's terms. And we think the future is sensational.”

Mr. Byrne added that the secondary offering last week, in which $230 million of stock was bought and sold, was a measure of just how pleased the owners were with how the company had done. “Some of the institutional owners said they would like to take some of the money off the table, and that is a reflection of how very pleased they were,” said Mr. Byrne. But he said that he would not be selling his 25 percent stake in Montpelier. “I am not at all interested (in selling), I think the future is even better.”