Even as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled economies and industries around the world in 2020, the insurance industry in Barbados grew, dominated by international firms, business experts revealed Monday.
The disclosure was made at the launch of the Barbados International Business Association’s inaugural Barbados Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM) virtual conference.
Last year they were 60 new entrants into the insurance industry in Barbados, said BIBA president Derrick Cummins, as he pointed out that Barbados continued to be one of the top markets for the world’s insurance business.
Cummins said: “Barbados continues to distinguish itself among the top 10 domiciles for captive insurance business globally and while we regret not being able to showcase in person all that Barbados has to offer to an international audience following on the heels of the highly successful virtual Global Business Conference in October 2020, we thought the timing was right to now focus the spotlight on an industry that is yet growing in an increasingly uncertain world.”
“2020 saw irrevocable disruptions to business across all industries but the insurance industry has been the most widely impacted as businesses and individuals grapple with the fallout of the global novel coronavirus pandemic. The industry worldwide is seeing a high demand for coverage but on the flip side the insurers are facing high capital adequacy requirements creating the type of hard market that leaves clients little room for negotiating on premiums and very little appetite for writing new policies.”
He described the March 23 and 24 virtual conference as a “must-attend event for risk, insurance, finance, investment, legal and any professionals aligned with the insurance sector”.
The BIBA organisers are expecting over 200 local, regional and international conference delegates.
Conference topics include post-pandemic risk management, emerging market new opportunities, wielding initiatives including coverage and cyber risks and pandemic risks, risk management and climate change, managing investment portfolios for captives and regulating in a post-COVID world.
Cummins said “highly notable speakers” for the conference include Government’s Special Advisor to the Economy and chairman of the Financial Services Commission Professor Avinash Persaud; Ben Arrendale, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on International Business Matters and Elizabeth Emmanuel, Technical Assistance Manager for the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility. (RB)
