Feb 14 - Gibraltar Sets its Sights on Becoming an Insurance Linked Securities Jurisdiction
Gibraltar plans to become an Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) jurisdiction within the European Union. The ILS market has grown significantly in recent years and the total volume of catastrophe bonds and ILS issued during 2013 was more than $7.5 billion and by the end 2013 there was an all-time high of $20.5 billion of outstanding catastrophe bonds and ILS.
AON's Director and Global ILS Practice Leader, Liz Frederick, who is based in the Cayman Islands recently provided ILS training for Gibraltar's Financial Services Commission and a number of Gibraltar's legal and accounting firms. Liz Frederick has previously trained other insurance regulators on insurance linked securities.
Gibraltar's Insurance Companies (Special Purpose Vehicles) Regulations 2009 will be the primary legislation for Gibraltar to enter the ILS market and its 2001 Protected Cell Companies legislation will be an attractive part of Gibraltar's ILS offering.
Gibraltar has a vibrant and growing insurance sector with gross premium income for all Gibraltar's insurance companies in 2012 exceeding £3.8 billion. Gibraltar's motor insurers had a 16% share of the UK motor market in 2012.
Albert Isola, Minister for Financial Services commented, ‘the Gibraltar insurance industry has grown significantly over the past ten years, in particular the motor sector. We are very proud of the progress that has been achieved and we are keen to develop other and complementary areas of insurance. We believe that insurance linked securities offer one such opportunity. I am grateful for the support and effort that AON has provided in the recent training programme for the Financial Services Commission.
‘I am pleased to announce that Gibraltar Finance, together with a number of industry participants, will be attending the Insurance and Risked Linked Securites Conference 2014 (IRLS) in New York on 4th and 5th March. This annual conference is widely regarded as the leading global forum for updates, strategies and insights into the ILS industry and is expected to be attended by over 400 delegates from around the world.’
