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Thirty years ago this week, Hurricane Emily hit Bermuda. She was a Cat 1 storm-and the first major tempest of its kind that many islanders can remember. The previous hurricane that strong was back in 1948. Emily made landfall on September 25, 1987, packing 90-mile-per-hour winds, gusts up to 112, and even a few tornadoes.
Emily's impact was all the more dramatic because she pre-dated the era of preparedness that makes the modernday Bermuda community so resilient. Meteorology hadn't evolved to its cutting-edge prescience. There was no Emergency Measures Organisation. Neither forecasters nor islanders could approximate the path or strength of the storm, which uprooted trees, flipped cars, sank boats, and tore the roofs off 230 Bermuda buildings, including the airport, which had to close temporarily. Many residents were injured due to Emily's extreme winds that caused damage totalling $50 million.
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Votes of approval
France awarded Bermuda
white-list status this month, making it one of the first jurisdictions to qualify, thanks to fulfillment of its Country-by-Country reporting obligations. Bermuda also passed a critical test, being declared "largely compliant" by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), along with Canada, Norway and Germany, among other nations. The
Global Forum rating followed a peer-review process to tax-transparency standards.
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Supporting Europe
New statistics gathered by the Bermuda Monetary Authority demonstrate the significant value of
Bermuda's reinsurance market to Europe. The BMA's first EU Data Claims Survey found reinsurers based in Bermuda paid out a total of $72.8 billion to EU policyholders and cedants over the past 20 years. About half that amount ($36.8 billion) was paid to UK customers. The figures demonstrate the value of Bermuda carriers and of diversifying risk globally.
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New York roadshow
BDA's Sean Moran
led meetings for a Bermuda delegation with senior New York business executives. Premier the Hon David Burt and Economic Development Minister the Hon
Jamahl Simmons met corporate leaders of fund management, private equity and venture capital companies. Distributed ledger (blockchain) technology, digital banking, and cryptocurrencies featured in all the talks, and job growth and economic diversification were also key topics.
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Institute of Directors kudos
BDA CEO Ross Webber has gained his
Diploma in Company Direction, joining seven other Bermuda-based stakeholders who now hold the designation (second in three-part road to Chartered Director status).
Institute of Directors accreditation follows a course in London and an exam that tests candidates' knowledge of good corporate governance and top-level strategy. Eight delegates from the IoD Bermuda Branch also achieved the Certificate in Company Direction designation.
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What does Bermuda's insurance industry mean to the island's economy? A considerable amount, according to several new studies. Members of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) contributed nearly $900 million to the jurisdiction last year,
a survey released this week indicated. Research also found the
captive insurance industry generated an estimated $174 million for Bermuda every year, while
life and annuity re/insurers contribute almost $80 million annually and the
insurance-linked securities sector about $700 million. All insurance sectors combined provide more than 3,000 jobs on the island.
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Life & annuity
The fourth
annual conference hosted by the island's life and annuity sector attracted a record number of 250 delegates. Premier the Hon David Burt officially opened the
Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers (BILTIR) event, for which BDA was a sponsor. BILTIR members manage more than $196 billion in assets, and along with insurance-linked securities, is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Bermuda market.
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Captive insurance
The 13th annual
Bermuda Captive Conference attracted close to 800 overseas guests and generated 752 hotel room nights at Fairmont Southampton. Organisers said the three-day event, which moved to September this year due to the America's Cup, was successful, bringing together captive owners, managers, brokers and service-providers to discuss industry topics. Next year's conference runs June 11-13.
Check out 2017 event highlight photos here.
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Insurance
Team Bermuda connected with executives of the
Risk Management Society (RIMS) at its recent Canadian event in Toronto. RIMS CEO Mary Roth (above) attended Bermuda's networking reception, where Barry Dillard, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts' Director of Claims Management, won a weekend in Bermuda, care of Fairmont Southampton. BDA led a 17-strong industry group to RIMS Canada, and also attended several business development meetings in the city.
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Healthcare
A series of five new BDA webcasts highlights the Bermuda insurance market's talent and capacity to cover rising global healthcare industry risks. Bermuda has become a leading provider of healthcare-liability coverage, with carriers able to provide up to $350-million capacity for any single risk. The videos lead up to the annual
ASHRM conference in Seattle, Washington (Ocotber 15-18), at which BDA and industry representatives will host a networking luncheon.
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Asset Management
BDA linked organisers of
WAIS Bermuda conference
(October 11-13) to government, industry and community stakeholders during meetings in New York and Bermuda. The event features baseball legend Darryl Strawberry and NBA great Charles Smith (far left). The annual
Global Fund Forum
also returns (October 16-18), offering a progamme of networking and one-on-one sessions for the alternative fund industry. Both events take place at Fairmont Southampton.
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Life Sciences
Bermudian scientist Dr Carika Weldon met with BDA Consultant for Emerging Technologies John Narraway to discuss the latest in portable DNA/RNA splicing technology. Weldon is a Biomedical Science lecturer at DeMontfort University, Leicester, UK, and organiser of the second
Bermuda Principles Conference
at the Fa
irmont Southampton (February 21-25). The BDA promotes Bermuda as an ideal jurisdiction for international licensing for US life-science and pharma companies.
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Technology
The BDA was invited to visit Silicon Valley's
Plug and Play Tech Center
to watch the "Final 50" insurtech companies pitching for placement in its accelerator programme. Plug and Play now have more than a dozen partners, including MaidenRe, Axis, MunichRe, SwissRe and MS Amlin. The BDA is connecting to insurtech startups in California and Toronto to attract ventures that could benefit from being based in our reinsurance market.
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Awards
Bermuda won top non-US captive domicile at
US Captive Review Awards in Vermont. Judges cited our jurisdiction's "heavyweight position" in the industry and noted that our "technical insurance infrastructure rarely rivalled anywhere in the world." Judges commented that the domicile remains committed to its impressive base of almost 800 captives, which rank Bermuda as the world's leading captive centre.
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Shipping
BDA led a 20-person Bermuda delegation to
London International Shipping Week 2017. Deputy Premier & Transport Minister the Hon Walter Roban, BDA CEO Ross Webber, and members of the new Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority (BSMA) attended the biannual event that attracts global industry executives. BSMA Acting CEO Captain Pat Nawaratne (above, left) was recognised for his service to the island's shipping community.
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Trust & Private Client
Our Lynesha Lightbourne joined 740 industry professionals at this month's STEP Awards in London. Bermuda was also represented by industry professionals from Meritus Trust Company, Butterfield Trust (Bermuda), Estera Services (Bermuda), and Harbour International Trust Company. As sponsor of Private Client Legal Team of the Year - Midsize Firm, we were honoured to present the award to Salpy Kouyoumjian (above, right), of Boodle Hatfield.
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Multi-industry advantages
The 2017-18 issue of our
STEP Bermuda booklet focuses on Bermuda's advantages for family offices. The 24-page report examines how the island's multi-service offering is leading the way for modern high-net-worths. Included is a feature on Bermuda's security-related insurance products, a column on the importance of client privacy,
a graphic look at Bermuda's multi-industry benefits (above), and an interview with America's Cup CEO Sir Russell Coutts.
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Captive report
Industry experts weigh in on Bermuda's captive insurance trends in a new special report on the jurisdiction. Captive Review's
Bermuda 2017 details the new government's aims for international business, the growth of cyber risk programmes and employee benefits insurance, the influx of LatAm coverage, global political and economic factors, and the BDA's measures to unify Bermuda's service providers.
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Re/insurance champ
Reinsurance advocate
Brad Kading is profiled by BDA Head of Comms Rosemary Jones in the September issue of The Bermudian magazine. Kading, President of the
Association of Bermuda Insurers & Reinsurers (ABIR) won the 2017 Bermuda Insurance Institute Industry Leader of the Year Award and was instrumental in Bermuda's successful campaign for Solvency 2 regulatory equivalence from the European Union.
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Campaign hero
The creator of
Bermuda Heroes Weekend believes in
#everybodysbusiness. Jason Sukdeo (aka D'General) will join our public awareness campaign to talk about how international business benefits the whole community. Sukdeo, who says his former IT job at Bacardi helped shape his entrepreneurial success, will be interviewed by
Bermemes later this fall.
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Beach Bash 2017
BDA supported
Family Centre's annual fundraiser, a sunset Beach Bash at Fairmont Southampton. The event, which called for an all-white attire, saw a large turnout that included numerous corporate benefactors, a silent auction, and a barbecue buffet. Proceeds fund the accredited charity's work to stamp out child abuse, neglect and other family-based problems.
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'Tis the season... conference season, that is. Bermuda plays host to a full slate of different industry events over the next few months. To find out more or to register, click below:
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Connecting Business
The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business here smooth and beneficial. |
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