Bermuda's biggest insurance company ACE Ltd. has announced it is set to re-domicle from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland in a bid to maintain its position as a top global insurer.

The insurance giant, whose Bermuda operations are based in Hamilton, has approved the move to the Swiss capital Zurich and will ask its shareholders to vote in favour of the proposal at the company's Annual General Meeting in July.

If given the go-ahead and subject to regulatory approvals, ACE expects the relocation to be effective in July also, and plans to set up a corporate holding firm in Zurich as well.

Following the re-domestication, the ACE Group of Companies will continue to operate as they do currently. ACE Ltd. will continue to maintain executive offices in Bermuda, and ACE Group Holdings will keep up its executive offices in New York. Meanwhile, the company's Bermuda re/insurance operations will continue to operate without any material changes.

ACE will continue to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and its common shares will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Evan Greenberg, chairman and CEO of ACE, said the move was a logical step following the company's incorporation in the Cayman Island approximately 22 years ago and then going on to become a major global insurer, making Switzerland an ideal location to do business, as home to some of the world's biggest and most respected financial and insurance firms and with a well-established legal and regulatory framework.

"This move is part of the natural evolution of ACE from its beginning over two decades ago as a monoline excess insurer owned by its policyholders to a global publicly-traded insurance company operating throughout the developed and developing world," he said.

"Our incorporation in a major financial center, home to many global financial and insurance companies, will provide an improved corporate structure and an excellent location for further growth and expansion of our company. We believe that this change in our corporate residency will provide us with better strategic flexibility, a solid legal and regulatory environment, and improved ability to manage our capital and our businesses.

The move will also provide ACE with a holding company office presence in Europe, where the company does 25 percent of its business.

And Mr. Greenberg made reassurances that the Bermuda operation would not be affected by the relocation, with its executive offices being maintained on the Island, while the Bermuda subsidiaries will also not be impacted by the move.

"Switzerland also affords us the security of a network of tax treaties," he said. "At the same time, we intend to maintain the ACE Group's operations in Bermuda, where we have conducted business since the inception of the company."

ACE does not expect the re-domestication to have any material adverse short-term or long-term impact on its financial results, with full details of the transactions, and the associated benefits and risks, provided in the company's proxy statement with respect to its AGM.