HSBC Insurance Solutions (Bermuda) Limited
We provide independent access to the Bermuda market and are licensed as insurance brokers and insurance managers. Our representative office in New York is available to provide convenient assistance for US brokers when required. Free from equity links to any of the national brokers, at no time will we compete with you for domestic business.
As a member of the HSBC Group, we are part of one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. This allows us to offer our insurance clients a wide range of financial services and products generally not available within other broking offices.
This site is not intended for persons located or resident in jurisdictions which restrict the distribution of information by us. Those people accessing these pages are required to inform themselves about and observe any relevant restrictions.
Insurance Broking
Within our Insurance Broking practice we have several areas of expertise. Please select from the following list the areas/practice that best suits your requirements:
Directors' and Officers' liability
Directors' and Officers' liability insurance is widely regarded as the single most visible and important insurance purchased by a corporation. As liability exposures to directors and officers continue to escalate, the Bermuda market has a variety of products tailored to protect the asset of both the individual and the corporation. Traditional Directors' and Officers' / corporate reimbursement coverage is available on a primary or an excess basis with limited difference-in-conditions (DIC) available. Extremely broad and flexible 'side A' coverage only products are also available in Bermuda, to protect directly the personal wealth of the individual in situations where they are unable to obtain indemnification from their company.
Employment practices liability
In response to ever escalating employee-related claims, the Bermuda market offers single-source employment practices liability insurance up to US$100 million. Coverage is extremely broad in its ability to provide protection against punitive damages and allows corporations to retain control of their own claims defence.
General liability insurance
Bermuda-based insurers can offer significant general liability insurance capacity. This was one of the first insurance products developed by the Bermuda market in the mid-1980s. Insurers such as ACE and XL responded to the needs of insured parties with innovation, flexibility, security and a long-term commitment to the stability of capacity and pricing. While some of the Bermuda insurers are industry-specific, most can accept business from a diverse group of industry classes.
Integrated risk insurance programmes
The Bermuda insurance market can offer a wide range of integrated insurance programmes that can be tailored to a company's individual requirements. Both large and middle-market companies are realising the value of basket coverage to secure maximum benefit from their insurance programme. Excess integrated insurance allows a company to purchase a single, share aggregate limit of coverage in its principal areas of exposure, instead of buying individual towers of excess insurance. Clients can maintain separate primary policies with current carriers, familiar coverage language and individual attachment points. The integrated programme is an excess follow-form policy that provides a cost-efficient way to purchase cover for major liability exposures.
Loss portfolio transfers
Insurance companies writing long-tail liability business (and corporations) can sometimes encounter a situation where underwriting losses 'stack up' on the balance sheet. An LPT programme can provide an opportunity to transfer these liabilities off the insurance company's balance sheet and 'close the books' in respect of certain risks. The Bermuda market is widely recognised as a leader in alternative risk financing solutions, and strong competition currently exist on the island for LPT business.
Punitive damages wraps
Seventeen US states consider punitive damages awards to be uninsurable, including California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. A further five states are undecided.
Punitive damages can turn a bad suit into a catastrophic one. Being outside US legal and regulatory jurisdictions, insurers in the Bermuda market can address this exposure and fill a potentially serious gap in an insured's liability insurance programme.
Representation and warranties
For most corporations, business transactions such a purchase, sale, merger or acquisition are a regular consideration. Typically, the seller will make contractual 'representations and warranties' that form the foundation for the purchase decision. If, after the closing, such representations or warranties are found to be incorrect or breached, a liability will arise providing a basis for indemnification and other remedies to the buyer. Insurance is available in the Bermuda market to protect the seller from financial loss, resulting from a lawsuit, caused by the breach of an insured representation or warranty.
Retention stop loss insurance
Deductibles and self-insurance established on a sound actuarial basis are at times susceptible to unanticipated frequency. Stop loss insurance is unavailable in Bermuda that will allow corporations to protect against adverse earnings in any annual period resulting from the unexpected frequency of self-insured losses.
