Major New Insurance Player To Set Up In Gibraltar

Press Release, Gibraltar Government

20 October 2000

Following extensive discussions, the Government is delighted to be able to announce that the major insurance group ACE is in the process of establishing a presence in Gibraltar.

The ACE Group of Companies is one of the world's largest providers of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance. Headquartered in Bermuda, ACE traces its history back to 1792 when the Insurance Company of North America ("INA") (acquired by ACE in 1999) issued its first coverage on a transatlantic shipment from the USA to Northern Ireland.

ACE Limited, the holding company of the ACE Group of Companies, was established in 1985 in response to demand by Fortune 500 companies for excess liability coverage and has grown well beyond its initial Bermuda-based operations and its core product offerings. Today, the ACE Group provides a diversified range of products and services to clients through operations in nearly 50 countries around the world.

In March 1993 ACE Limited was floated on the New York Stock Exchange and with assets of approximately $30 billion, the Company is today covered by most of Wall Street's major securities houses. Since ACE's inception, management has focused on building global operations diversified by region and business line.

The ACE Group has recently established an underwriting branch, ACE Gibraltar Limited ("AGL") to complement the activities of ACE Underwriting Services Limited, a UK service company which was formed in 1998 as a subsidiary of ACE Global Markets. AGL will underwrite a wide range of commercial risks and has created a number of products specifically for the Gibraltar market.

The formation of AGL is part of a process which will see the establishment of a number of operating companies in Gibraltar. This will provide ACE with significant flexibility and the opportunity to expand its commercial activities from Gibraltar with the ability to offer both Lloyd's and ACE Gibraltar security.

The ACE Group intends to establish operating companies in Gibraltar to provide insurance services to the local and international markets. One of the companies will specifically be set up to support e-commerce insurance initiatives.

AGL has already commenced its recruitment and taken on employees with responsibility for underwriting. It will recruit further staff to provide the services it intends to deploy from Gibraltar as these initiatives develop.

Appropriate regulatory and operational consents are being sought from both the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission and Lloyd's. The ACE Group intends to start operating from Gibraltar shortly after those consents are obtained.

John Charman, CEO ACE Global Markets said: "With the combination of the team ACE has established in Gibraltar and the support of ACE Global Markets' specialty underwriters in London, we believe AGL is ideally positioned to provide premium insurance services from Gibraltar." Mr Charman added: "The progress the Gibraltarian Government has made in strengthening its regulatory environment in recent years and the proactive commercial climate it has fostered to attract new businesses were significant factors in ACE choosing to establish a presence on the Rock."

Minister for Trade, Industry and Telecommunications Keith Azopardi welcomed the ACE Group's decision to establish a presence in Gibraltar. "This decision marks the success the Government's finance centre strategy is having. The ACE Group will bring their experience, prestige and expertise to Gibraltar and will further assist in the diversification of the finance centre and the development of niche markets."

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