Delegates from Bermuda’s insurance industry, as well as government and regulator officials, will be traveling across Canada in early May to explain the corporate and financial benefits of setting up a captive insurance company in the island country.
Headed by Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant Gibbons, the roadshow will highlight the benefits of the 2011 Canada-Bermuda Tax information and Exchange Agreement (TIEA), which places Bermuda on the same tax footing as other jurisdictions that have existing tax treaties with Canada.
Under TIEA, Bermuda subsidiaries of select Canadian corporations can receive tax and financial benefits, such as “tax-free repatriation of certain dividends to Canada.”
“The TIEA between our countries makes it easy and beneficial for Canada and Bermuda to do business together,” Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) CEO Ross Webber said in a statement. “The BDA, with government, BMA, and our industry partners, is working to educate the Canadian market about the process and benefits of setting up a Bermuda structure as part of their overall international planning.”
The sessions, which will be held in Toronto and Calgary, will introduce such topics as the definition of a captive insurer, the captive insurance structure, reasons to set up a captive and typical risks that are insured. Speakers will reference successful case studies throughout each forum.
“There are other good jurisdictions, but none of them offer everything Bermuda does,” said Philip Cook, CEO of Toronto-based Omega Insurance Holdings, Inc., who established the subsidiary Omega General Insurance Company in 2004. “Bermuda offers Canadian business the best opportunity for one-stop shopping if an alternative method of risk transfer or risk financing is desirable.”
Canadian law firm Bennett Jones is sponsoring the presentations, hoping to promote “Bermuda’s reputation as an attractive jurisdiction for foreign investment.”
The delegates will also be available to speak with industry insiders at the Canadian Captives and Corporate Insurance Strategies Summit in Toronto.
