LONDON (Bloomberg and BestWire) — London-based insurer Beazley Group Plc is to follow its Lloyd's peers Catlin and Hiscox in redomiciling outside Britain.

But unlike the others, Beazley has not opted to come to Bermuda, partly for reasons of stability, geographical location and the Island's concentration of reinsurance.

Beazley will become tax domiciled in Dublin, where it will set up an office with no more than three employees, to cut its corporation tax bills and set up a new holding company in Jersey, the insurer said.

CEO Andrew Horton said Ireland was preferable location to Bermuda because of its "stable" political environment and proximity to the European insurance market. There is also no limit on the amount of time directors can stay in London, he said.

He added that had Bermuda had also been eliminated from consideration as a domicile because of its heavy reinsurance concentration. Lloyd's, he explained, already provides ample access to the reinsurance markets.

The move into Ireland "also gives us a good base when we want to implement a European strategy," said Mr. Horton, in an interview. Europe, he added, is the long-planned "third leg" of Beazley's strategy, after Lloyd's and US domestic business. "We intend to do that in the mid-term," he said.

Horton pointed to the growth of the Irish insurance market and the presence of many of "our peer group" there.

"It's a very stable tax and regulatory environment and actually it's geographically close to us. And it's within the European Union, so it has the EU passporting."

Beazley plans to raise £150 million ($215 million) in a share offering to increase underwriting capacity and buy a US underwriter.

Shareholders will be offered nine shares for every 19 they already hold, at 86 pence apiece, or 21 percent less than Beazley's closing price on Thursday, the London-based company said on Friday. The sale will support the purchase of Boston-based First State Management Group Inc., which offers property coverage.

"We called a turn in the market last October and foresaw significant opportunities for Beazley," Mr. Horton said in the statement. "Opportunities to grow our Lloyd's business and our locally underwritten US business have increased since then, with January renewals confirming our expectations of premium-rate rises in many classes."

Beazley, which offers professional liability and commercial property insurance, is joining Lloyd's insurers Amlin Plc, Hiscox Plc and Catlin Group Plc in writing more policies to benefit from rising premiums. Prices for insurance have risen this year following a contraction of capital in the industry because of hurricane losses and falling investment returns, which means insurers can take on less risk.

The company said it will create a new parent company for the group, which will become a tax resident in Ireland, to lower its corporate tax payments.