Bermuda’s insurance market is showing signs of cooling after a strong start to the year, with the pace of new company formations slowing through late summer, according to the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s latest statistics.

The BMA’s September Insurance Registration Report confirms that two new insurers — Arthur Re Ltd, an unrestricted special purpose insurer, and Mercuria Re Ltd, a Class 2 insurer — were added during the month, bringing the year-to-date total to 43.

That marks only five new registrations across August and September combined, compared with an average of more than five per month during the first half of the year. To surpass last year’s total of 63 new insurers, the market would need to see roughly seven registrations per month through December — a pace that now looks unlikely.

Despite the slowdown, the composition of new entrants remains broad and healthy. The insurance-linked security sector continues to drive much of the activity, with 16 restricted special purpose insurers and eight collateralised insurers formed so far this year. The total also includes captives, commercial reinsurers and an innovative long-term insurer.

The BMA’s Insurance Assessment and Licensing Committee reviewed six applications in September — four new and two carried over — and approved all six.

Insurance registrations have tended to be cyclical. Bermuda recorded a near-decade high of 80 new insurers in 2022, followed by 62 in 2023 and 63 last year.