Stakeholders “generally supportive” of proposals for regulating IAIGs: BMA

Stakeholders have been generally supportive of the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) proposed changes to its framework for regulating internationally active insurance groups (IAIG), the regulator has said.

In December 2020 the BMA issued a consultation paper calling for industry feedback on plans to introduce the concept of an IAIG, to comply with the principles and standards of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) Common Framework (ComFrame).

Much of the feedback has been to clarify the implications of some of the proposals, the BMA said. It confirmed the proposals only relate to IAIGs that are supervised by the BMA, and has amended some wording to ensure it is consistent with ComFrame’s definition of an IAIG - namely, that it is an insurance group at which “premiums are written in three or more jurisdictions.”

The BMA said it would be inappropriate to include a right of appeal in a decision to classify a business as an IAIG because such a move is not a measure of enforcement. It compared the process of designating an IAIG to the one undertaken when determining whether a business should be designated as a group supervisor of an insurance group - a determination that is not appealable.

The BMA promised that a comprehensive ComFrame implementation roadmap will be shared with industry in due course.