Insurer Plans to Escape Germany’s High Taxes

Tax-news.com reports on the likely shift to Ireland of a major German insurance company, Hannover Re. This is part of a trend as companies of all types are moving out of high-tax nations, with Ireland and Bermuda being major beneficiaries. (Interestingly, the article notes that the U.S. states of Vermont and South Carolina are havens for captive insurance companies.)

Hannover Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, is considering switching its operations to Ireland or another low tax jurisdiction, the company's chief executive told a conference recently. According to Bermuda's Royal Gazette, Wilhelm Zeller, CEO of Hannover Re, told a press conference at the annual reinsurance gathering, Le Rendez-Vous in Monte Carlo, that the $5.5 billion firm is considering moving from its present base in Germany.... "For us, the ideal location, from a fiscal point of view, would be Ireland," Zeller stated, although he added that setting up headquarters in Dublin could be costly.

While Ireland's low 12.5% corporate tax and location within the European Union is a big draw for reinsurance and other companies, Bermuda's 0% rate of tax has lured many insurance companies to incorporate in the jurisdiction from high-tax countries like the UK. Last year, Lloyds of London underwriting firms Hiscox and Omega set up companies in Bermuda, citing the UK's 30% income tax and its burdensome regulation. They were swiftly followed in January 2007 by another Lloyds firm, Hardy Underwriting plc.

...The 82 new Bermuda incorporations for 2006 compare very favourably with figures recorded by other jurisdictions such as Vermont, which had 37, South Carolina with 29, and the Cayman Islands with 50.