Bermuda has yet another new reinsurer, Ocean Re, which has been licensed as a Class Three insurer at the Registrar of Companies.

According to London-based Reinsurer magazine, Ocean Re will act as a so-called "transformer company" which will front deals between (re)insurance and capital markets.

The magazine, on its website, said investment bank JP Morgan Chase helped to set up the company but it is owned by a Bermuda-based trust.

The company has capital of just $120,000, the minimum capital for a Class Three registered company, as it will not be retaining any of the risk or premium in the deals it facilitates.

Ocean Re will charge fees for its services.

Ocean Re is currently a one-man operation, consisting of Richard Lowther of Bermudian captive manager JLT Risk Solutions, which is providing back office and support services for the company.

"JP Morgan Chase wanted the transformer company to exist but didn't want to own it," Mr. Lowther told Reinsurance magazine.

He also said Ocean Re would help (re)insurers access the capital markets and the capital markets hook up with (re)insurers. He added: "JP Morgan will initially be the primary provider of the capital market products the company supplies."

Mr. Lowther told the magazine that Ocean Re hoped to appoint a chief financial officer within a month and to have underwriting and marketing roles filled within a year.