Bermuda - Tier C · Contained · Question to the Bermuda Monetary Authority
Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2026 11:49 am
Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026 · Entry BM · Published 12 October 2026
At a glance
1. The rules in Bermuda
Since 1 January 2016, section 8C of Bermuda's Insurance Act 1978 has required certain classes of insurer, including Class 4, to keep their head office in Bermuda and to direct and manage their insurance business from there.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority's Stakeholder Letter on AI of 9 February 2026 names AI and sets a board expectation on AI literacy, but introduces no AI-specific requirements and states no supervisory follow-up. Its consultation on AI guidance (14 August 2026, comments by 30 October 2026) is a draft.
Who these rules reach
This band describes how far the published record answers the question put to the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It is not a finding that the Bermuda Monetary Authority, or any firm it oversees, has fallen short of any rule.
Why the question goes to the Bermuda Monetary Authority: No Bermuda-licensed reinsurer's own published account of AI deployed in underwriting or claims was found, so the question goes to the regulator.
The question
3. What the open question means for firms in Bermuda
Until the Authority answers, a Class 4 reinsurer whose underwriting decisions are shaped by an AI system its group runs outside Bermuda has no published statement on whether that bears on the section 8C head-office test. This entry gives no band to any firm.
4. What this entry does not establish
Sources
None share a law or regulator with this entry.
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Commercial relationship with any party named here: None · Right of reply: indexreport.protocol@fijishi.com; with the sender's agreement, replies are published in full below the entry, dated · Cite as: Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026, Entry BM · Corrections: none.
At a glance
| Jurisdiction tier | Tier C - Specified, not yet enforced. AI is specified as for Tier A, but no mechanism to check firms against it is stated. |
| Question to | the Bermuda Monetary Authority - the head-office test for Class 4 reinsurers |
| Band for this question | Contained |
| Rules reach | Insurers: directly · Reinsurers: directly · Intermediaries: not stated |
| Last verified | [actual date of the launch-window check] |
Since 1 January 2016, section 8C of Bermuda's Insurance Act 1978 has required certain classes of insurer, including Class 4, to keep their head office in Bermuda and to direct and manage their insurance business from there.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority's Stakeholder Letter on AI of 9 February 2026 names AI and sets a board expectation on AI literacy, but introduces no AI-specific requirements and states no supervisory follow-up. Its consultation on AI guidance (14 August 2026, comments by 30 October 2026) is a draft.
Who these rules reach
- Insurers: directly. Section 8C(1): "Every Class 3A, Class IIGB, Collateralized Insurer, Class 3B, Class 4, Class IILT, Class C, Class D and Class E insurer that satisfies the requirements of subsection (2) shall maintain its head office in Bermuda."
- Reinsurers: directly. Section 4E makes a body registrable as Class 4 where it intends to carry on business including property catastrophe reinsurance, and section 4F(1) provides: "“insure” includes reinsure".
- Intermediaries: not stated.
This band describes how far the published record answers the question put to the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It is not a finding that the Bermuda Monetary Authority, or any firm it oversees, has fallen short of any rule.
Why the question goes to the Bermuda Monetary Authority: No Bermuda-licensed reinsurer's own published account of AI deployed in underwriting or claims was found, so the question goes to the regulator.
The question
In briefSince 1 January 2016, section 8C of Bermuda's Insurance Act 1978 has required a Class 4 insurer - the class registered to write property catastrophe reinsurance or excess liability business - to keep its head office in Bermuda and to direct and manage its insurance business from there. In judging that, the BMA must consider "where the underwriting, risk management and operational decision making of the insurer occurs". The BMA's Stakeholder Letter on AI of 9 February 2026 says it introduces no AI-specific regulatory requirements at this time, and that the BMA's current focus is on monitoring how existing frameworks - governance, risk management, outsourcing, market conduct, cybersecurity and operational resilience - are applied to AI use. Where a Class 4 reinsurer's underwriting decisions are materially shaped by an AI system that its group runs outside Bermuda, does the BMA treat that as bearing on the section 8C head-office test, or does it not regard section 8C as one of the existing frameworks that reach AI?
Why this band: No company's own account could be tested, so the question rests on the statute and the regulator's own published letter.Bermuda's statute makes the place where a Class 4 reinsurer's underwriting decisions are made part of its head-office test. The BMA's issued AI letter says existing frameworks govern AI and adds no AI-specific requirements. Its August 2026 consultation draft goes further and notes that AI may be developed, hosted or supported outside Bermuda, but that draft is not final. The BMA has not publicly said whether offshore group AI in underwriting bears on the statutory head-office test.
3. What the open question means for firms in Bermuda
Until the Authority answers, a Class 4 reinsurer whose underwriting decisions are shaped by an AI system its group runs outside Bermuda has no published statement on whether that bears on the section 8C head-office test. This entry gives no band to any firm.
4. What this entry does not establish
- Whether any Class 4 reinsurer uses group-run AI outside Bermuda in underwriting. This entry says nothing either way.
- Whether any existing Authority code names AI. The codes were not read in full, and the entry does not say that none does.
- The Authority's 2022 survey of AI use carries no printed release date and reflects fieldwork in late 2021.
- 30 October 2026: comments close on the Authority's consultation on AI guidance. If final guidance is issued, the tier is re-tested.
Sources
- Insurance Act 1978 (Bermuda), consolidated text, ss.4E, 4F, 8C (s.8C inserted with effect from 1 January 2016). Statute. bermudalaws.bm
- Bermuda Monetary Authority, Stakeholder Letter on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence, 9 February 2026 (printed). Regulator. Not published online; cited without a link.
- Bermuda Monetary Authority, Consultation Paper, "The Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Financial Services in Bermuda", Friday, 14 August, 2026 (printed). Regulator (consultation draft). cdn.bma.bm PDF
- Bermuda Monetary Authority, Bermuda Insurance Sector Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Survey - 2022 Report (year only printed). Regulator. cdn.bma.bm PDF
None share a law or regulator with this entry.
________________________________________
Commercial relationship with any party named here: None · Right of reply: indexreport.protocol@fijishi.com; with the sender's agreement, replies are published in full below the entry, dated · Cite as: Fijishi Jurisdiction Index 2026, Entry BM · Corrections: none.