Middlesea Insurance management subsidiary wins major clients

International Insurance Management Services Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of Middlesea Insurance plc, is concluding negotiations with two new major clients, IIMS general manager Anne Marie Tabone told The Times Business. IIMS expects to begin to manage these clients' portfolio early next year.

Discussions are also under way with a further two potential clients which are evaluating the Malta jurisdiction.

Established in 1991 as Malta's first insurance manager, IIMS currently manages the portfolios of four clients originating from Germany, Italy and the UK. Three are insurance and reinsurance companies, and include the world's largest reinsurer, Munich Re, which also holds a 19.6 per cent stake in Middlesea Insurance plc. IIMS services a long-standing assurance portfolio for the fourth, Sun Life of Canada.

According to Ms Tabone, the three companies under management have generated €65 million worth of premium in the first nine months of this year.

"One of our main objectives is to continue to grow our third party clients list," Ms Tabone said earlier this week. "Around 22 per cent of IIMS' fee income comes from non-Middlesea Group clients and that is expected to increase by at least another ten percentage points based on the clients we know of today before the end of 2010."

Ms Tabone, who is also Middlesea Group chief financial officer explained that many benefits accompanied the relocation or establishment of new insurance clients. One IIMS client, in particular, provides a specialised class of business, "after the event insurance" cover, which brings class-specific knowledge to the company's professionals. As a reinsurer, Munich Re brings with it a totally different perspective to insurance business.

"Two potential clients are also looking to introduce new types of cover ," Ms Tabone added. "This new business is enhancing the level of service provided by our more technical insurance professionals. It also enriches the professional services that Malta as a jurisdiction has to offer. In this way, IIMS and other insurance managers are bringing growth and diversification to the financial services sector."

The growth of Malta's wider insurance sector went beyond generating tax, regulator fees and manager income. By attracting some of the best known and respected international names, Malta was creating specialised business and employment opportunities in other sectors such as the legal and accounting fields. Insurance executives also generated business in terms of corporate travel and accommodation and the demand for high end property and services. The resulting inflow of funds into Malta's investment cycle was considerable.

"Operators come here to write books of varied volumes. Even the smaller operators will find structures, regulators and service providers willing to treat them as important customers," Ms Tabone, who joined the Middlesea Group in 1986, emphasised. "Their size matters to the economy and to the regulators. In many other jurisdictions, an operator writing a $30 million book of business is so small that is not considered among the most important. This has been a crucial element for the Malta jurisdiction and has contributed to attracting several names."

IIMS is one of 10 indigenous and international insurance managers registered in Malta.

In the larger scheme of things within Middlesea Group, currently in the throes of preparing to launch a rights issue to boost its capitalisation, IIMS has proven to be an important player to the growth of the group. The insurance manager is currently seeking to build its workforce from 60 to 70 professionals. Apart from its third party insurance management portfolio, it also provides insurance management and back office services to group subsidiaries Middlesea Insurance, Middlesea Valletta and Progress Assicurazioni SpA of Italy.

"The growth of IIMS and its contribution to the group - Middlesea is a risk carrier, IIMS more slanted to services provision - brings a mix to the balance of risk that MSI and MSV have to carry. IIMS is actively working to attract more clients to its own account but also to the Malta jurisdiction. The Middlesea Group has always flown Malta's flag and has always had faith in the sector's international spectrum.

"IIMS seeks to continue to provide the group with non-risk fee income and profitability as it grows its international base. Significantly, it will continue to create for Malta a diversified, professional infrastructure capable of providing the highest levels of insurance needs to a wide range of international clients."