Bermuda, the world's largest captive domicile, registered 17 new insurers in 2017, up from 13 in 2016, but the total number of captive insurers declined from 776 in 2016 to 739.

        Jeremy Cox, CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, said the main new captives came from the United States, and also included captives from Europe, Canada, Australia and Latin American countries.

       Twelve new Class 1 captives (single-parent captives that mainly underwrite shareholder risks) were added in 2017, a significant increase from four in 2016. Class 1 captives underwrite a wide range of specialty business, including Canadian groups writing general liability and workers' compensation insurance, and U.S. health captives writing home care and employee medical stop-loss insurance.

        Mr. Cox said the number of captives registered in Bermuda is no longer the focus of attention; the quality of business has become the important measure.

        Bermuda captives wrote $54.7 billion of premiums in 2017, down from $55.3 billion in 2016. As of December 31, 2017, the numbers of various classes of insurers in Bermuda were as follows:

       Class 1: 218

       Class 2: 267

       Class 3: 239

       Class A:  7

       Class B: 8

Source: Bermuda Monetary Authority