Bermuda's Registrar of Companies Kymn Astwood yesterday added fuel to rumours of an impending collapse of Bermuda-based New Cap Reinsurance Corp.

He told The Royal Gazette he would be releasing a statement concerning the company's future today or tomorrow. But he refused to confirm or deny industry speculation that liquidation was imminent.

Last month Mr. Astwood appointed inspector Mark Smith, a partner with Deloitte and Touche, to look into the company's affairs. The Bermuda-based subsidiary has four employees based on the Island.

Mr. Astwood said then: "New Cap Reinsurance Corporations Holdings Ltd. (a Bermuda holding company) publicly stated that its financial condition was negatively impacted by catastrophe claims and reserve strengthening.

"In very properly regulated insurance environment, there are times when officials must step in to have a closer look to ensure everything is in order.

This is one of those times.'' New Cap Reinsurance Corp. Holdings suspended the underwriting activities at its Bermuda subsidiary, New Cap Reinsurance Corp. (Bermuda) Ltd., earlier this year after total capital fell below the required level of $100 million.

In Bermuda to be admitted as a Class 4 insurer a company must have at least $100 million in capital and surplus.

A statement from the company revealed at the time that on the basis of New Cap's projected results, the group overall expected to have capital of approximately $100 million for the 1998 year.

"However, after statutory adjustments, the capital and surplus of the Bermudian subsidiary will fall below the $100 million required amount under the terms of its Class IV licence,'' the statement said. It said an operating loss of about $90 million for 1998 was anticipated.

The company was hit by catastrophe claims of $41.5 million in addition to its $14.8 million loss in the first half of 1998 and had to add to its reserves in the second half of 1998.

New Cap said the large loss was due to claims from business written in 1997, the company's first underwriting year.

The company was also hit by an extraordinarily poor year in terms of the number and magnitude of catastrophes.

New Cap was incorporated in Bermuda in 1996 and has shares traded on the Australian Stock Exchange. New Cap Re was developed by Volker de Chelard, former underwriter of GIO Re in Australia, along with Paul Williams, a Chicago-based reinsurance intermediary and Jonathan Beach, a Toronto-based insurance entrepreneur.