Bermuda Monetary Authority expresses confidence that it will achieve Solvency II equivalence

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) says it is confident it will achieve equivalence with Europe’s proposed Solvency II capital provisions, following high-level talks with European officials in Brussels earlier this month.

In the meantime, the BMA expressed confidence that a promise to exempt captive insurance firms in Bermuda from those provisions will be honoured.

The meetings were arranged in collaboration with the Bermuda government and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, says Jeremy Cox, the authority’s chief executive officer.

“We are on the right track, both in terms of achieving equivalence for our commercial insurers and reinsurers and in terms of securing the promised exemptions for Bermuda’s captive or limited purpose insurers,” Cox says.

Adds Shanna Lespere, the authority’s director of international affairs: “We are not yet over the finish line, so I think our continuation of a strong advocacy programme remains a critical support element to achieving our goals in Europe.”

Other subjects covered in technical discussions by the authority included group supervision, the merits of full equivalence, transitional equivalence, delays in Solvency II implementation and relations between Bermuda and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, Lespere says.