While the number of re/insurance companies incorporating in Bermuda has risen, the number of companies closing up shop is the highest in a decade, showed Registrar of Companies figures.Twenty-nine companies were either liquidated or struck off the Bermuda Registrar’s list in 2011, more than three times the number from a year prior.The last time Bermuda saw numbers as high was in 2004 when 20 companies closed.According to the chair of the economics committee of the Chamber of Commerce, Peter Everson, there are at least two major reasons for the increase.“There are very few companies that stay open for 500 years,” said Mr Everson. “It’s part of the natural business cycle companies open and close. There tend to be periods of large growth and expansion and then periods of recession.“For the past 30 years, prior to 2007, countries like the US, Canada and Europe went through an enormous expansion in the financial services sector. Bermuda profited as a result. Bermuda did extremely well for 15 years because of this global growth.”Since 2007/2008, says Mr Everson, global economies have shrunk.The Royal Gazette reported last week that 53 new insurance companies set up in Bermuda in 2011, however, the latest number from the Registrar of Companies showed 64 companies had formed, including reinsurers Third Point and PaC. This number is up from 49 from in 2010, the lowest since before 2000.“The real strength of any economy is the number of businesses opening and expanding,” said Mr Everson.He added: “The vast majority of companies in Bermuda are paper companies and the number of companies that employ people and pay payroll taxes is actually quite small, less than 400.”While he said that the increase in 2011 incorporations wasn’t enough reason to start celebrating, it was encouraging.“It’s better than zero; it’s good news,” he said.“All companies bring in revenue to the Island one way or another, but the focus should be on increasing that number and trying to get those businesses to do as much business as possible on the Island.”