29 January 2013Actuarial & underwriting

BMA will not apply Solvency II to captives


The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) confirmed this week that it would not apply Solvency II to the Island’s captive sector. The decision was affirmed in the organisation’s 2013 business plan and accompanying annual meeting, which took place on Tuesday.

Rather than subscribe to Solvency II guidelines, the BMA will instead implement what BMA CEO Jeremy Cox referred to as “refined reporting requirements”. Under the refined requirements, captives domiciled in Bermuda will be required to submit a risk return electronically as part of a consolidated annual filing. According to Cox the risk return—information many captives already provide voluntarily-- will be the extent of the 2013 refinements.

Cox commented: “it’s good for Bermuda and the market that we can make this decision based on the proven appropriateness of our regime for captives. This step… reflects our ability to take independent decisions on regulatory change at a pace that’s right for Bermuda and according to what makes sense for our diverse market, while taking into account achieving global recognition for our supervisory regimes.”

You can read the BMA’s 2013 business plan, which emphasises the BMA’s intention to balance international cooperation with independent approaches,  here.