1 December 2015Actuarial & underwriting

BDA to host LatAm captive insurance webinar


Latin American corporations that could benefit from starting up a captive insurance company in Bermuda are the focus of an upcoming webinar hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA).

The hour-long webinar will be held from noon–1 pm Bermuda/Atlantic Standard Time (GMT -4) on Monday 7 December. It will be conducted entirely in Spanish and feature an expert panel discussing the regulatory, legal and tax issues, as well as the substantial benefits, of setting up a captive insurer in Bermuda, including risk management, asset protection, and efficient access to the global reinsurance market.

The webinar is the fourth held by the BDA this year; previous webcasts targeted Canadian, US and healthcare industry audiences.

“Our webinar will be geared to private corporations and multinationals in the Latin American region,” said Jereme Ramsay, BDA business development manager for the risk and LatAm sectors.

“Bermuda has become the first choice for LatAm captive setups, primarily from Mexico and Colombia. The Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) we hold with several LatAm countries have been strong catalysts for this recent peak in interest across the region.”

Bermuda has TIEAs with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, while multilateral treaty signatories additionally include Chile.

The island is currently home to close to 300 companies from Latin America across multiple sectors. Dome of the largest companies from the region have formed captives and other investment vehicles on the island, including Colombia’s Ecopetrol, Pacifico Rubiales, and the Carvajal Group.

“A large percentage of Latin American businesses would benefit enormously from creating a captive insurer in Bermuda, but many have not yet done so because the concept is relatively new in the region,” Federico Candiolo, senior counsel at ASW Law and the webinar’s moderator.

“This webinar will make LatAm companies more aware of Bermuda’s captive solution, which has been successfully used for decades by North American and European markets.”

Registrants will receive online access to the live webinar followed by a question-and-answer session, and a post-webinar download of the presentation.

Featured speakers with Candiolo are Andres Carmona of Marsh and Eduardo Fox of Appleby. Other professionals who will offer live commentary and answer questions during the webinar include: Giuliana Molero of PwC, Daniel Message of R&Q Quest, and Mike Woytowicz of Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda).