Record Attendance At Captive Conference
The Bermuda Insurance Management Association [BIMA] along with The Bermuda Captive Conference Committee said it had record attendance at the annual Bermuda Captives Conference at the Fairmont Southampton from June 10th – 12th.
The conference was supported by The Bermuda Business Development Corporation [BBDC], the re/insurance industry, the international business community, Government of Bermuda and the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
The Bermuda Captive Conference boasted more than 650 registered participants from more than 10 different countries who heard perspectives from high-level speakers from the Government of Bermuda, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the reinsurance and captive insurance industry.
They included Craig Cannonier, Premier of Bermuda; Bob Richards, Minister of Finance; Craig Swan, Managing Director, Supervision at the Bermuda Monetary Authority; Stephen Catlin, Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman, Catlin Group; Bradley Kading, Director of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers Peter Zaffino, Chairman and CEO of international insurance broker and risk adviser, Marsh Inc.
Additional sessions over the three-day conference highlighted cost-efficient captive management strategies; corporate governance issues; Special Purpose Insurers and Insurance-Linked Securities; US healthcare reform implications and opportunities for captives; trends in regulation and tax updates; and understanding the Latin American market.
Bermuda’s outreach efforts to the Latin American market over the six months and at the conference generated notable attendance from that region and resulted in 3 incorporations of new captives from South America during the conference — one each from Brazil, Colombia and Peru. For the first time ever, the Bermuda Captive Conference provided translation service into Spanish and conducted several sessions in Spanish for attendees, which was very well-received.
“Bermuda is the leading captive jurisdiction in the world today and we intend to extend that market leadership through continued efforts to serve our existing clients, while engaging new markets like Latin America,” said Peter Willits, Chairman of the Conference.
“We are very pleased with the record attendance at the conference and the support of the BBDC, government officials, regulators and industry. In a highly competitive marketplace, we know that attention to detail, providing real and actionable information and focusing on our customers and clients is essential. By all measures of feedback and our surveys, this conference did that very well.”
Added Lawrence Bird, BBDC Board member, “We are very pleased to have provided financial support and additional resources to an event that was very well run and very much focused on providing valuable access to Bermudian captive service providers as well as information which leads to new business formation. The attendance at the conference also creates additional economic growth in our hotel and tourism sector and in this case resulted in more than 720 room nights at the Southampton Princess.”
He continued, “We also welcome the positive news that there were 3 new Captives formed from South America – a market that is vibrant and growing and that Bermuda is actively targeting for development.”
The conference had 45 exhibits from companies and service providers to the Captive industry, which encouraged additional business development discussions between participants and conference sponsors.
The Bermuda Captive Conference conducted a confidential survey of participants which yielded a very positive response and included strong affirmation that the engagement of Bermuda’s reinsurance business with its captives business created a much more comprehensive view of the value and benefits of the jurisdiction. In addition, the participation and active support of the Government of Bermuda and its regulators led to a view that Bermuda was active and welcoming of additional business to the jurisdiction.
Separately, the Bermuda Captive Conference has announced that it will host its next conference “Excellence in Global Risk Financing” on June 2 through June 4, 2014 at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel.
Yeah right…
Like the mysterious visitor numbers for vacation. Sorry this conference was empty, and I’ve been to many. The whole thing reeks of decay, no headline names, terrible hotel, rotten timing at 7.1……you need new ideas Bermuda Captive people.