A working group of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has recommended the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) for approval as a “qualified jurisdiction” under the NAIC’s reinsurance regulatory modernization framework.

The recommendation, if approved, would reduce collateral requirements for approximately 240 Bermuda insurers and reinsurers who provide coverage in the United States.

Along with the BMA, the NAIC’s Qualified Jurisdiction (E) Working Group recommended similar status for the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, the French Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, the Central Bank of Ireland, and the U.K.’s Prudential Regulation Authority of the Bank of England.

“The timely evaluation of these jurisdictions represents another important step forward in implementing reinsurance modernization by the states,” said John M. Huff, who is chair of the NAIC Reinsurance Task Force and director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration, in a statement.

The recommendation is an endorsement of the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s (BMA) “robust and comprehensive supervisory regime applied to commercial insurers and reinsurers domiciled in Bermuda,” according to Bradley Kading, president of Association of Bermuda Insurers (ABIR), in a statement provided to Insurance Journal.

The BMA is an important financial markets regulator committed to meeting international standards, said Kading. “Its strong risk-based capital requirements, mandatory stress testing, public disclosure requirements, enterprise and cat risk management assessments put it at the forefront of supervisory authorities globally.”