CEE regulators still blacklisting Bermuda

Regulators and banks in Central Eastern Europe (CEE) are continuing to blacklist Bermuda, meaning that insurers in the region are unable to make the most of Bermuda’s vast offering.

“The general attitude of central banks and regulators in CEE is a misunderstanding of Bermuda. Despite being the first offshore territory to be taken off the blacklist and having bilateral agreements with a number of markets, many banks and regulators do not want insurers working with companies based on Bermuda,” said Kirill Savrassov, chief executive officer of Phoenix CRetro Reinsurance Company.

“This eliminates the possibility of working with large reinsurers, of which 15 out of 40 of the global reinsurance groups are based on Bermuda,” he added.

Ukraine-based insurance company BROKBUSINESS, a strategic partner of the Bermudian niche reinsurer, has been awarded a licence from the National Bank of Ukraine to post collateral abroad as part of its retro reinsurance capacity provision.

Once the insurer reached enough maturity to diversify its portfolio, it passed the decision to enter into the cat market rapidly, taking only three or four months.

The licence, the first of its kind throughout Central and Eastern Europe, is expected to open up new opportunities in the international insurance-linked securities markets.

Savrassov added that in three to five years, overall capacity from CEE countries through the use of the collateral trust concept could hit £100 million.

Savrassov said: “Phoenix CRetro wants to open the window of opportunity to step into cat. We have to do more than provide services, our role is to help persuade local regulators that Bermuda is a good place to do business.”