| AXIS Capital launches European HQ |
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| AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, the Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance, officially opened its European headquarters in Dublin in July. |
OOutgoing Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy officiated at the proceedings.
AXIS set up its Dublin office in May 2002, and its underwriting operations in Ireland have far exceeded initial expectations. According to Michael Butt, chairman of AXIS Capital, ‘for the year ending December 31, 2003, our Irish companies wrote $415 million of individual risk gross premium on a consolidated basis. Our European Union direct writing company, AXIS Specialty Europe Limited, is capitalised with $192 million and our Irish reinsurance company, AXIS Re Limited, is capitalised with $500 million.
AXIS Specialty Europe Limited recently began underwriting directors and officers liability insurance and other professional lines coverages. It is offering the products, which includes pension scheme liability (fiduciary liability), employment practices liability and professional indemnity (miscellaneous professional liability), primarily through its UK branch AXIS Specialty London. The products are aimed at publicly traded and privately held companies located outside the United States.
Commenting on why AXIS chose Dublin, Butt said, ‘Dublin lies at the very heart of our important European underwriting operations. When we chose to locate our European headquarters here, we undertook not only to establish ourselves in the business community, but also to plant our feet firmly on Irish soil. To that end, in early 2002, we purchased Mount Herbert Court, a protected Victorian property in the central business district of Dublin. We have subsequently invested in a major refurbishment of the building’.
AXIS Capital has shareholders’ equity of approximately $3.0 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States and Europe. |
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