Bermuda granted reciprocal status by NAIC

Bermuda regulatory authorities said Wednesday they are pleased the National Association of Insurance Commissioners has granted the island reciprocal status.

The designation, effective Jan. 1, 2020, means Bermuda is recognized as being on par with the United States, and that Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers can operate in the market without additional capital requirements, according to a statement from the Bermuda Business Development Agency.

The NAIC said in a separate statement issued Tuesday that it had approved the Bermuda Monetary Authority, along with the Japanese Financial Services Agency and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, to be placed on the NAIC List of Reciprocal Jurisdictions as of the new year.

“The NAIC has a successful history of working with Bermuda, Japan and Switzerland as Qualified Jurisdictions," said Eric A. Cioppa, NAIC president and Maine’s insurance superintendent, in the statement. 

“As U.S. ceding insurers and state regulators have a large degree of confidence in their supervision of reinsurers, they should receive similar treatment to reinsurers domiciled in Covered Agreement jurisdictions.”

Stephen Weinstein, deputy chair of the Bermuda Business Development Agency, said in the Bermuda statement, “Insureds, intermediaries and communities across the U.S. will only benefit from ensuring level playing field access to Bermuda’s capital and risk management expertise, and from further reducing the costs of exporting risk to the Bermuda market.”