This Is Guernsey

By Simon Tostevin

GUERNSEY’s capabilities as a reinsurance domicile were highlighted during two conferences in London last week.

The Guernsey Insurance Forum 2008 and a seminar entitled ‘Destination Reinsurance: Guernsey – an alternative to Bermuda?’ both caught the eye, according to Peter Niven (pictured) , chief executive of GuernseyFinance.

He said it had been a very good week for Guernsey’s international insurance industry.

‘We have seen from both these events that Guernsey’s insurance sector is still buoyant and in good shape. The continued strength of the island’s capabilities has been reaffirmed by captive managers and we are stepping up our expansion as a reinsurance domicile, particularly in the light of the new regulations.’

At the reinsurance seminar, it was announced that the Guernsey Financial Services Commission had been working closely with Lloyd’s to identify an appropriate structure that would facilitate the growth of the latter’s business in Guernsey.

To this end, new regulations were approved by the States on 3 November and signed by the commission’s chairman on 7 November. The new framework will allow Lloyd’s syndicates to establish a physical presence in Guernsey which will operate under the island’s insurance manager regulatory framework.

The reinsurance seminar was held at the Andaz Hotel and was chaired by Mr Niven. It included contributions by Guernsey industry practitioners as well as a presentation from Bronek Masojada, chief executive of Hiscox, a leader in specialist insurance.

It was followed by the Guernsey Insurance Forum, which included a keynote speech on opportunities and risks in the global economy by Hamish McRae, economic commentator at The Independent.

The forum also allowed delegates to walk through an exhibition by the island’s service providers, ranging from world-renowned to boutique captive managers, multi-jurisdictional law and major accountancy firms.

Peter Berring, group risk director at UK-based De La Rue PLC, which has a Guernsey captive, said the forum had been a good networking opportunity and had shown the island’s facilities in a very good light.

‘We are very happy with our captive and its functioning in Guernsey.

‘The benefits of the island are its proximity to our head office in the UK and, more importantly, the strength of resources for supporting all the aspects of captive management. In addition, the open-minded flexibility that the island represents is very important, coupled with the fact that it is very strong in areas such as capital management.’

Richard Le Tocq, chairman of the Guernsey Insurance Company Management Association, added: ‘The quality of the sessions has been very good and the feedback I have had from clients has been superb. The last-minute changes to the programme, in terms of making it more topical to the economy, were a great move. Generally, it’s been a big success.’

Article posted on 18th November, 2008 - 2.30pm