Gibraltar is seeing an increase in enquires for open-market insurance company start-ups...
Gibraltar is seeing an increase in enquires for open-market insurance company start-ups.
Helping to facilitate this growth is Aon Insurance Managers in Gibraltar, which is owned by Aon Corporation, the largest insurance manager in the domicile.
In addition to providing captive management and fronting solutions through its cell company White Rock, Aon has developed a range of solutions to help start-up companies establish themselves in Gibraltar.
Dermot Finnerty, managing director of Aon Insurance Managers in Gibraltar, explains: “While we are still seeing a significant number of captive and cell enquires, we are experiencing a large increase in enquiries for new open market insurance company set-ups.”
“These may be from existing European insurers wanting to go into new lines of business or brokers or managing general agents who view the establishment of a new insurance company as a way of their controlling distribution channels and the ability to tailor their insurance products to the needs of their customers.”
Finnerty claims that these insurers choose Aon as, unlike many of its competitors, it is able to provide an in-house, end-to-end start-up solution—helping with the initial licence application and company set-up, and providing the corporate governance systems, back-office function and operational support.
He continues: “Additionally, through the greater Aon network, we can also provide advice and placement of their reinsurance programme, actuarial support on their Solvency II forward looking assessment of own risks and solvency capital requirement calculations, and even introduce them to capital providers, if required.”
Finnerty goes on to explain that Aon Insurance Managers see its services as helping to incubate start-ups so they can eventually become standalone insurers in their own right.
He says: “By providing menu-driven services we enable start-ups to have all the services without the need to deploy staff that would be underutilised in the early years.”
“As the company grows they can begin to employ full-time staff picking only the functions they require from our menu-driven service offering.”
“This means our clients only ever buy the services they need on their journey from start-up to eventually becoming fully self-managed. Indeed, as the only insurance manager in Gibraltar offering this, our clients can take advantage of group buying power and drive down the costs of employing outside consultants.”
According to Finnerty, Aon has already helped four companies grow from start-ups to self-managed insurers.
He says: “This is a great achievement, and it is pleasing to know we have played a part in the success and growth of these companies.”
With an accessible, business-friendly regulator and legislature, the Gibraltar market continues to evolve with its government recently enacting new legislation allowing cells to be used for insurance-linked securities transactions and Part VII transfer of run-off portfolios.
It is clear that, while Gibraltar remains a significant captive domicile, it is rapidly evolving to become a European insurance centre in its own right.
