Sailfish, Berking, HFCI and Light Speed: 4 new insurers

Sailfish Re, Berking Re, HFCI and Light Speed Insurance were all registered as new insurers on Bermuda in January, the Bermuda Monetary Authority has confirmed.

Two of the companies – HFCI and Light Speed Insurance Corporation – are registered as Class 1 insurers, which are typically single-parent captives underwriting only the risks of the owners of the insurance company and affiliates of the owners.

Berking Re is registered as a Class 3A insurer, which typically relates to small commercial insurers whose percentage of unrelated business represents 50% or more of net premiums written or net loss and loss expense provisions and where the unrelated business net premiums are less than $50 million.

Finally, Sailfish Re is registered in the unrestricted SPI category. Unrestricted SPIs may transact with any cedant, if the cedent is rated A- or higher, in terms of its financial strength, by AM Best or an equivalent rating from a rating agency recognised by the Authority.

Four insurance applications were reviewed in January by the Insurance Assessment and Licensing Committee (IALC). Three were approved by the IALC, and one was deferred.

The BMA noted that the registration/licensing of approved insurance entities is issued after the IALC application process and may be confirmed in future periods.