The only Class Four insurance company to set up in Bermuda during 2003, Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd., this week reported it had made a loss for the first quarter of 2004 of $4.5 million.

The company, which was started in May 2003 with over $500 million in capital and has its corporate headquarters to Cumberland House in Victoria Street, Hamilton, has no historical data to compare the results to.

Quanta provides speciality insurance, reinsurance, and risk consulting services through its affiliated companies and at last count had 230 staff worldwide of which about ten are based in Bermuda full time and office also in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States.

"We are very pleased with Quanta's performance during our first full quarter of underwriting operations," said Tobey Russ, chief executive officer. "As expected, we capitalised on the opportunities we saw in the reinsurance market during the first quarter as our direct lines continue to ramp up."

The company has had a rocky start to its young life ? its initial incorporation was short lived. Bermuda Monetary Authority records show that after Quanta was set up it then was voluntarily wound up.

But the company once again incorporated in Bermuda under the same name ? Quanta Reinsurance Ltd. ? on August 15, 2003.

In October, reported that staff were being sued by their former employer, CNA Financial Corp., for the alleged use of company secrets to help in the set-up of the company they now work for.

The four were named as John Van Decker, John Lopes, Anthony Codding and Cathy Cossu and were formerly mid-level executives with Chicago-based CNA but reportedly jumped ship to work for start-up. The lawsuit was later settled.

Since then the company has been working on expansion and consolidation and in September completed the private placement deal which brought in net proceeds of $505 million.

And this week it filed for the first time its financial reports, stating that had made a net loss so far for the first three months of 2004.

The net loss excluding net realised gains on investments for the first quarter of 2004 was $5.7 million, or $0.10 per share

Gross premiums written for the first quarter of 2004 were $118.7 million, and net premiums written were $112.5 million.

For the first quarter, reinsurance contributed $80.7 million of net written premiums and direct insurance contributed $31.8 million of net written premiums and net premiums earned in the first quarter were $27.2 million.

The company said it had raised net proceeds of $505.6 million in a private offering of common shares that closed September 3, 2003.

Mr. Russ said: "Our $112.5 million of net written premiums in the first quarter, our reinsurance group bound an additional estimated $48.6 million, which will be reported as net written premiums in future periods. Looking ahead to the rest of 2004, we expect the direct lines to become an increasingly significant contributor to the overall business."

On December 23, 2003, the company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission for the resale registration of the common shares previously sold to its shareholders in the private offering.

The S-1 registration is not yet effective, but the company expects it to be declared effective in the near future.

In addition, the company's common shares have been approved for listing on Nasdaq's National Market, and the company anticipates that trading will commence after its registration statement has been declared effective.