Reinsurers in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Bermuda are now eligible to be certified for reduced reinsurance collateral requirements under a new NAIC law, the Credit for Reinsurance Model Law.
The four countries have been granted conditional qualified jurisdiction status by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC), effective 1 January 2014.
The NAIC developed the “Process for Developing and Maintaining the NAIC List of Qualified Jurisdictions” (NAIC Process) to evaluate the regulatory frameworks of non-US jurisdictions for reinsurance collateral reduction purposes.
Approval under the NAIC Process means that reinsurers licensed and domiciled in Bermuda will be eligible to be certified for reduced reinsurance collateral requirements under the NAIC's Credit for Reinsurance Model Law.
Jeremy Cox, CEO of the Bermudan insurance authority, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome of this initial step in the NAIC’s Process. Having this status is highly relevant to the Bermuda market, in terms of potentially facilitating efficiencies in the cross-border operations of Bermuda reinsurance with the US insurance market.”
In September, the authority was the first insurance supervisor to agree to participate in an expedited review under the NAIC Process. The full review of the four approved jurisdictions will take place during 2014.