Bermuda’s Monetary Authority to Handle Insurance Regulation

The Government of Bermuda has transferred responsibility for regulating the island’s insurance operations from the Finance Ministry to the Monetary Authority in a move seen by analysts as increasing transparency and efficiency in the sector.

The change follows a study by KPMG which recommended that giving authority over insurance regulation to the independent Monetary Authority would improve the system, and satisfy demands from many industrialized countries for tighter controls on off shore operations.

The Monetary Authority already is charged with regulating other operations in Bermuda’s financial sector, including licensing banks and regulating investment companies, as well as issuing currency. It will now have sole authority for the regulation of an estimated $120 billion in capital controlled by Bermuda-based insurers.

London’s Financial Times reported that Robert Steinhoff, Chairman of the Bermuda Insurance Advisory Committee indicated that the change would “separate the regulatory process and licensing from politicians and the government,” as the Monetary Authority is totally independent from government control.