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The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) licensed 99 new international insurers in the 12 months to the end of March.
This includes 8 limited companies, 5 Protected Cell Companies (PCCs), 73 PCC cells, 3 Incorporated Cell Companies (ICCs) and 10 ICC cells.
Further data on these newly licensed entities shows that their owners’ geographical origin is approximately split into thirds: one third from the UK; one third from the Cayman Islands; and one third from other jurisdictions, including Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Bermuda, USA, Singapore, South Africa and Australia.*
Fiona Le Poidevin, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, said: “There appears to be no let-up in the number of international insurance licence applications being approved by the Guernsey regulator. We are seeing continuing growth in new entities related to Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) transactions but also a steady stream of more conventional captive insurance vehicles.
“A strong proportion of our business continues to originate from the UK but there is also a growing amount coming from competitor domiciles in Europe such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland, jurisdictions on the other side of the Atlantic, whether the USA, Cayman or Bermuda, and also the markets of Singapore, South Africa and Australia.
“This demonstrates the truly international nature of our client base and shows that Guernsey continues to be the jurisdiction of choice for insurance services by firms from around the globe.”
The latest figures show that there were a total of 790 international insurers licensed in the Island at the end of March 2014, comprising 243 limited companies, 70 PCCs, 439 PCC cells, 8 ICCs and 30 ICC cells.
This compares to a total of 752 international insurers being licensed by the GFSC at the end of March 2013, which means there has been net growth of 38 entities during the 12 months. It also means that there has been net growth of 32 entities in the first three months of this year as there were 758 international insurance entities licensed in Guernsey at the end of December 2013.
The figures come in the wake of Guernsey retaining its crown as European Captive Domicile of the Year at the UK Captive Services Awards 2014 and the Island keeping its position as the largest captive insurance domicile in Europe and number four globally, according to rankings published in March 2014 by trade magazine Business Insurance.
Miss Le Poidevin added: “Guernsey’s insurance sector remains buoyant and we have seen a particularly significant increase in ILS transactions being structured through the Island during the last 12 to 18 months. The fact that we have strength and depth across both the insurance and investment sectors means that the Island is ideally placed to service this business and the continued demand for ILS is something we are looking to capitalise on further during this year, not least through our upcoming event in Zurich. However, it is also pleasing that Guernsey continues to prove attractive for the more conventional captive insurance business which has been a staple of the industry for many years.”
Guernsey is hosting the free to attend thought leadership event ‘ILS Insight’ at the Grand Hyatt in Zurich on Wednesday 2 July. For further information or to make a booking please email Jennifer Baudains: jen@guernseyfinance.com.
* Statistics from the GFSC show that the 99 international insurance entities licensed in the year to the end of March 2014 had the location of owner split as follows: UK – 36; Cayman – 34; Ireland – 8; Bermuda – 4; Guernsey – 4; USA – 3; Switzerland – 3; Luxembourg – 2; Singapore – 2; South Africa – 2; Australia – 1.
