last year, with 94 new insurance companies added to the register, compared to 84 in 1999.

According to statistics released by the Registrar of Companies there was a net increase of 26 companies in the year as there were 68 companies removed from the register during that period.

The Registrar attributed the continued growth in the insurance sector to a sustained high level of interest in the Bermuda market.

The Island's traditional captive market continues to grow, with around 50 percent of the new companies being captives. Sixteen Class 1 companies were formed, which are single parent captives insuring only the risks of their owners or their owners' affiliates.

Nineteen of the new companies were Class 2 which may be either multi owner captives insuring the risks of their owners or owners' affiliates or single parent and multi-owner captives. These latter may insure risks related to or arising from the business or operations of the owner and affiliates and/or derive up to 20 percent of net premiums from unrelated risks.

There were no new Class 4 companies, but 35 new Class 3 companies. Class 3 companies are defined as those insurers and reinsurers not included in Classes 1,2 and 4 such as: reinsurers writing third party business; insurers writing direct policies with third party individuals; single parent, group, association, or joint venture captives where more than 20 percent of their net premiums written arises from risks which are unrelated to the business of the owners; finite reinsurers and rent-a-captives.

There were 15 new long term companies which write long term, or life, business, and nine new composites writing a combination of long term business and Class 1,2,3 and 4 business.

The United States and existing Bermuda insurers continue to be the major source of new business, but other sources last year were Brazil, Norway, The Netherlands, South Africa and France.