BMA confident of gaining Solvency II equivalence after Brussels talks

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) is confident Bermuda will achieve Solvency II equivalence following successful talks with officials in Brussels earlier this month.

The BMA is also optimistic that European Commission (EC) undertakings exempting captive insurance companies in Bermuda from the new directive will be honoured.

BMA chief executive Jeremy Cox said: “I came away from the meetings with a renewed level of confidence. It is clear that 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 said that the meetings, which were arranged in conjunction with the Bermuda Government and the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, provided a further indication that the strong ties which gave been developed over recent years with the EC, the regulatory body, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and members of the European Parliament, have helped pave the way for the current dialogue to take place.

Group supervision, the merits of full equivalence, transitional equivalence, delays in Solvency II implementation and relations between Bermuda and EIOPA were among the other subjects covered in the discussions.