Bermuda recommended by NAIC

Bermuda is one of five jurisdictions to have been recommended for approval as a qualified jurisdiction by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

If the recommendation is approved, it will reduce collateral requirements for Bermuda reinsurers who do business in the US.

The NAIC is the US standard-setting organisation created and governed by the country’s chief insurance regulators from the 50 US States, District of Columbia and five US territories.

If approved by the full NAIC membership, Bermuda would be placed on the NAIC’s first list of qualified jurisdictions effective January 1, 2015.

Jeremy Cox, Bermuda Monetary Authority’s chief executive officer, said: “The United States remains Bermuda’s largest trading partner. As such, being approved as a qualified jurisdiction is highly relevant for Bermuda in terms of potentially facilitating efficiencies in the cross-border operations of Bermuda reinsurers with the US insurance market.”

Bradley Kading, president of ABIR, added: “The NAIC working group’s recommendation for the BMA and Bermuda as a qualified jurisdiction is an endorsement of the BMA’s robust and comprehensive supervisory regime applied to commercial insurers and reinsurers domiciled in Bermuda.

“The BMA shows leadership in many ways, it is an important financial markets regulator which is committed to meeting international standards. Its strong risk based capital requirements, mandatory stress testing, public disclosure requirements, enterprise and cat risk management assessments put it at the forefront of supervisory authorities globally.”