Bermuda has established itself as a pivotal centre for global insurance and reinsurance, starting in 1947 when AIG located its international operations on the island, and following the development of captive insurance in the 1960s. The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), formed in 1969, oversees the supervision of financial institutions. Currently, Bermuda is home to more than 1,100 registered insurers and reinsurers, which collectively underwrote gross premiums exceeding $268 billion in 2021 with total assets in excess of $1.1 trillion. Notably, the long-term (re)insurance sector has experienced robust growth in recent years, particularly driven by US life insurers seeking to transfer blocks of business, and supporting the Pension Risk Transfer. Bermuda is also recognised as a leading provider of catastrophe reinsurance to US insurers.
Both Solvency II and the Bermuda Solvency (BSCR framework) are market value and risk-based capital frameworks. The Bermuda framework has received Solvency II equivalence from the EU and UK, and is also recognized as a qualified jurisdiction by the U.S. NAIC, which is an advantage for insurers operating across multiple jurisdictions.
