Captive reinsurer Equator Reinsurances Limited (Equator Re), which has been domiciled in Bermuda since 1984, has decided to increase its presence here, moving personnel to the Island and leasing new office space.Though the company has actually been here for almost three decades, a company spokesman said that they had very little representation in Bermuda between then and now.Equator Re, which provides excess of loss and proportional reinsurance for its Australian-based parent company QBE and is classified in Bermuda as a Class 3A insurer, has been based in Dublin, Ireland.For three days last week, a large coloured ad that ran in The Royal Gazette featured four employment opportunities — Chief Risk Officer, chief actuary, senior reinsurance underwriter and claims manager.According the company rep, the office will be a mix of staff from their Dublin office and new local employees.It is unknown how many staff are employed in the Dublin office or how many positions the company is looking to fill here in Bermuda.Equator Re is currently in the middle of signing a lease for office space and business will start to ramp up “within weeks”.QBE is ranked among the top 20 global reinsurers and insurers.According to ratings agency AM Best, Equator Re will provide considerable quota share reinsurance support for OBE Optima’s guaranteed auto protection, personal and property lines.Commenting yesterday on the ramp up, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Patrice Minors credited the Government and private sector.She told The Royal Gazette: “QBE’s captive reinsurer, Equator Reinsurances Ltd. has had a limited presence in Bermuda for several years, however the company now intends to relocate its Dublin office to Bermuda thereby establishing a far more prominent presence on the Island.“It’s a testament to hard work by many in Government and the private sector that they’ve chosen to expand their Bermuda operations.”