Headline Verdana Bold
Bermuda Reporting Requirements
An overview of statutory and solvency
reporting deliverables for general insurers
January 2019
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 2
Table of Contents
Overview of reporting landscape 4
Statutory Financial Statements 7
Economic Balance Sheet 9
Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement 13
Governance and disclosure 17
Transition to new regime 20
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 3
BEL Best Estimate Liability
BMA Bermuda Monetary Authority
BSCR Bermuda Solvency Capital Requirement
CISSA Commercial Insurer’s Solvency Self-Assessment
CIRA Commercial Insurer Risk Assessment
CSR Capital and Solvency Return
EBS Economic Balance Sheet
ECR Enhanced Capital Requirement
FCR Financial Condition Report
GSSA Group Solvency Self-Assessment
LRS Loss Reserve Specialist
LRSO Loss Reserve Specialist Opinion
MSM Minimum Solvency Margin
RM Risk Margin
SFS Statutory Financial Statements
TP Technical Provisions
Commonly used acronyms in the Bermuda reporting regime
4
Overview of reporting
landscape
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 5
To ensure that Bermuda continues to adhere to international standards and best practices for
insurance regulation and supervision, in 2015 the BMA instituted a series of enhancements
to its statutory and prudential reporting requirements for commercial insurers.
Statutory reporting regime
Statutory Reporting
The BMA recognizes that insurers having varying risk profiles arising from the nature, scale and complexity of their
business. As a result commercial insurers have additional reporting requirements, such as:
Every commercial insurer shall, in addition prepare GAAP financial statements in respect of its insurance business for
each financial year. A company can choose to report under US GAAP, Canadian GAAP or another framework (such as
IFRS) as their ongoing reporting requirements.
Consolidated GAAP
Financials
Unconsolidated
Statutory Financial
Statements
Consolidated Statutory
Financial Statements
New requirement from
2016
What’s audited?
Must file within 4 months of
the year-end unless an
extension is obtained, which
is usually issued 1 month at
a time, provided that the
company is in compliance
and there is a valid reason
for the request.
The principal representative
is responsible for obtaining
the extension.
When is it filed?
Actuarial Opinion
Commercial classes
require an loss reserve
specialist opinion on
the Technical
Provisions on the EBS.
Prudential Filters
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 6
As a Solvency II equivalent jurisdiction, Bermuda adopts a Three Pillar approach to risk-
based supervision. Insurers file a Capital and Solvency Return (CSR) within four months of
the financial year end.
Solvency reporting and capital assessment
Solvency Reporting
An overarching objective of Bermuda’s solvency regime over the past decade is to achieve and maintain Solvency II
equivalence, which effectively enables Bermuda domiciled insurers to conduct business in the EU on a level playing field
as EU domiciled insurers. The BMA is keen to sustain and continue to develop its risk-based regulatory approach that
both (a) meets or exceeds international standards and (b) appropriately reflects the nature of the Bermuda market.
To this end, numerous legislation and guidance have been recently issued, that broadly mirror the Three Pillar approach
of Solvency II.
Required capital based
on Economic Balance
Sheet (EBS).
Bermuda Solvency
Capital Requirement
(BSCR) computed
using standard
formula or approved
internal model.
Calibrated to approach
but not exceed
Solvency II.
Pillar 1
Quantitative
Requirements
Beginning with 2016
year end, prepare
Financial Condition
Report (FCR).
Outline performance,
risk profile, and
organizational
governance.
To be made publicly
available on insurer’s
website.
Pillar 3
Risk Disclosure
Prepare Commercial
Insurer’s Solvency
Self Assessment
(CISSA), assessing
risk governance and
capital adequacy
under normal and
stressed conditions.
Integrate at Group
level where multiple
legal entities exist.
Pillar 2
Risk Governance
7
Statutory Financial
Statements (SFS)
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In order to streamline the process and minimize duplication of effort, the BMA amended
statutory accounting valuation standards to be consistent with GAAP valuation, subject to
certain prudential filters.
Statutory financials and scope of audit
Source: Bermuda Monetary Authority
Audited
Audited
Audited
Some key prudential filters include:
Goodwill
Valued at zero.
Other intangibles
Value of future economic benefits
flowing to insurer, only if separable
and evidence of similar exchange
transactions; zero otherwise.
Prepaids and
deferred expenses
Valued at zero.
Deferred
acquisition costs
(DAC)
Valued consistently with GAAP.
Contingent
liabilities
Expected present value of future
cash flows.
Deferred tax
assets/liabilities
Valued consistently with GAAP.
Scope of the Audit
GAAP Financial Statements and Prudential Filters
are required to be audited.
The auditor’s opinion is whether the statutory balance
sheet, statutory income statement, and statutory
capital and surplus have been prepared in accordance
with the Act and these Rules.
- Forms 1SFS, 2SFS and 8SFS
9
Economic Balance Sheet
(EBS)
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Beginning with financial year 2016, the EBS framework forms the basis used to determine
capital requirements for Bermuda commercial insurers. The Loss Reserve Specialist is also
required to render an opinion on the reasonableness of EBS technical provisions.
The Economic Balance Sheet framework
Principles of EBS
Assets and liabilities are assessed and
included on the EBS at fair value in line with
GAAP principles, or, if GAAP does not
require an economic valuation, following the
EBS fair value hierarchy.
Specifically with respect to insurance
liabilities, an EBS Technical Provision (TP) is
established as the sum of a best estimate
liability (BEL) and a risk margin (RM). The
BEL represents the value of best estimate
cash flows, discounted to reflect the time
value of money and appropriate illiquidity
adjustment. The RM is included to provision
for uncertainty inherent to the underlying
cash flows.
When applying the EBS framework, the
principle of substance over form is applied,
for example when selecting actuarial
methodologies.
Market value of
assets
Assets
Free surplus
Liabilities
Required capital
over MSM
Minimum Solvency
Margin (MSM)
Risk margin
Best estimate
liability
EBS Technical
Provision
Enhanced Capital
Requirement (ECR)
Assets backing
Technical Provision
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 11
The Technical Provision represents the amount required to meet insurance obligations as
they fall due, and compensate capital providers for assuming the risk inherent in these
obligations.
Unpacking the Technical Provision
Best estimate cash
flows
Discounted for time
value of money and
illiquidity
Risk margin
EBS Technical
Provision
- + =
1. Liability cash
flows are projected
according to the
actuary’s best
estimate assumptions
for the relevant risk
drivers.
2. Cash flows are
discounted to reflect
time value of money
and illiquidity. The
BMA provides
calibrated discount
curves for widely used
currencies.
3. A risk margin is
added to reflect the
inherent uncertainty
in the best estimate
cash flows. This
reflects the amount of
compensation
required by capital
providers for bearing
this uncertainty.
4. The EBS
Technical Provision
is the total liability
value recorded for
insurance obligations.
The Loss Reserve
Specialist renders an
opinion on the
reasonableness of
overall TPs.
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 12
There are several other new concepts in the EBS framework that build on the statutory basis
toward a more economically consistent technical provision. Notably, insurers need to
calculate a risk margin, adjust reinsurance recoverables for default costs, and render an
actuarial opinion on the overall reasonableness of the TPs.
Other EBS considerations
Counterparty default
Under the EBS framework, reinsurance recoverables must
be adjusted for expected losses due to counterparty default.
The preferred methodology mirrors widely used expected
credit loss approaches.
Bound But Not Incepted (“BBNI”) Business
Provisions must also be set aside for business to which the
insurer is bound to as at the valuation date, even though the
underlying contracts may not yet have incepted.
Risk margin
A risk margin is added to the BEL to arrive at the
total EBS technical provision. Although the BEL by
definition reflects the expected value of insurance
benefits payable, there is inherent uncertainty in the
underlying cash flows.
Conceptually, the risk margin represents the
compensation required by the insurer to bear this
uncertainty. The preferred methodology is the Cost
of Capital approach, but certain approximations are
permissible. Under this approach, the insurer
calculates the cost of holding its required capital over
the lifetime of its insurance obligations, as follows:
 




is the insurers required capital at time t, per
the standard formula or its own internal model.
is the risk-free discount rate
 is the cost of capital currently 6%
Actuarial opinion
Under the new reporting regime, an actuarial opinion is
required on the reasonableness of EBS TPs.
The Loss Reserve Specialist should specifically discuss the
following:
Commentary on data underlying the EBS TPs
Discussion of how Events Not In Data (ENIDs) are
incorporated into their actuarial estimates
Discussion of how the Loss Reserve Specialist arrived at
their actuarial estimates of the insurer’s aggregate TPs
Commentary on the methodology used to arrive at the
adjustment included in the best estimate of reinsurance
recoveries that was made to reflect expected losses due
to counterparty default
13
Bermuda Solvency Capital
Requirement (BSCR)
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 14
Insurers are required to demonstrate capital adequacy with respect to the Bermuda
Solvency Capital Requirement (BSCR), which is computed per the BMAs standard capital
model or an approved internal capital model.
Capital requirements
Risk categories
General insurers must calculate capital requirements with respect to the
categories to the right. Most capital calculations are determined by
multiplying the prescribed capital factor by some defined exposure amount.
Some key factors include:
Premium: ranges from 15-55% of diversified net written premium with
concentration adjustment
Reserve: ranges from 12-52% of diversified EBS BEL with concentration
adjustment
Catastrophe: Net PML less CAT premium less credit risk charge on
reinsurance recoverable
Market: generally, market value x factor ranging by riskiness of asset
Diversified BSCR
Market Risk
Fixed Income
Equity
Interest/Liquidity
Concentration
Currency
Credit Risk
Reinsurance
counterparty
Accounts
receivable
Insurance Risk
Premium
Reserve
Catastrophe
Operational Risk
Capital
adjustments
Aggregation
Capital requirements are aggregated in a straightforward manner, applying
a very simple dependency structure as follows:
Half the credit risk charge is perfectly correlated with reserve risk
All other pairs are independent of each other
Operational risk and capital adjustments are added on post
diversification
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 15
Below we explain in more detail the risk charges associated with Bermuda’s BSCR framework
for general insurers
BSCR Individual Charges
Summary
of BSCR Risk Charges
Risk Module Bermuda BSCR
Fixed Income Investment Risk Applies to all fixed income investments, and charges vary by asset class (corporate bonds, mortgages,
etc.) and BSCR rating.
Equity Investment Risk Applies to all equity investments and varies by various factors. Includes common equity, preferred
equity, and real estate.
Credit Risk Applies to reinsurance exposure balances, as well as accounts receivables.
Interest and Liquidity Risk Applies to total market value of assets, and based on net duration gap.
Concentration Risk Applies to top 10 asset exposures. Effectively, the insurer must hold double the asset risk charge on
these 10 exposures; however the additional charge is diversified with other risk modules.
Premium Risk Applies by BMA Line of Business. Written premium applicable for each line is used to arrive at a
premium risk charge by multiplying the relevant premium by an associated pre-defined risk factor
Reserve Risk Applies by BMA Line of Business. Takes the claims provision component of the TPs by Line of Business,
and arrives at a reserve risk charge by multiplying the claims provision by an associated pre-defined
risk factor
Catastrophe Risk Catastrophe risk exposures by peril / region are multiplied by risk factors and aggregated in order to
arrive at an overall catastrophe risk charge
Diversification Credit Applied using a straightforward covariance approach prescribed by the BMA.
Operational Risk Applies as a surcharge to diversified
BSCR, based on the insurer’s self assessment of their risk controls
and governance.
Taxes N/A
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 16
Financial instruments may qualify into one of three tiers according to their permanence and
subordination. The BMA further enforces constraints on the quality of capital supporting the
MSM and ECR.
Solvency ratios and eligible capital
MSM and ECR
The Minimum Solvency Margin (MSM) is a prescribed regulatory capital floor as a function of business volume. The
Enhanced Capital Requirement (ECR) is the maximum of the MSM and BSCR requirements. The BMA imposes a target
ECR coverage ratio of 120%. BSCR will almost always be greater than the MSM and will hence drive the ECR.
The minimum capital requirements are intended to reflect a 0.5% probability of insolvency, generally considered
commensurate to a BBB-rated company. Companies targeting higher credit ratings would target higher coverage ratios as
defined in their risk appetite.
Tier Constraints General criteria for eligibility
Tier 1
At least 80% of MSM
At least 50% of ECR
Perpetual, unencumbered, non
-redeemable,
non
-callable and the highest level of
subordination
.
Tier 2
At most 25% of MSM
At most 50% of ECR
Relaxes some Tier 1 criteria to allow callable
hybrids and some other non
-perpetual
instruments available under a going concern, and
certain approved letters of credit/guarantees
.
Tier 3
Ineligible for MSM
At most 15% of ECR
Further relaxes criteria to allow more non
-
perpetual instruments, and certain approved
letters of credit/guarantees
.
Eligible capital
The general criteria for an instrument
to qualify into one of the three capital
tiers are outlined in the table to the
right.
In the case where certain assets are
encumbered due to the nature of a
particular reinsurance structure, any
excess encumbrances are classified as
either Tier 1 or Tier 2.
17
Governance and disclosure
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 18
Commercial insurers are required to submit certain qualitative and quantitative reporting
deliverables with respect to their risk governance. Notably, insurers must complete a
Commercial Insurer’s Solvency Self Assessment (CISSA), as well as report the Pillar 1
quantitative impacts as a result of a set of prescribed and self-identified stress tests.
Pillar 2 reporting
CISSA
The insurer must self-assess its capital requirements with
respect to the key risk categories identified by the BMA,
and provide commentary on why its self-assessment
differs from the BSCR.
The insurer must additionally disclose contingency plans
with respect to maintaining capital adequacy under
stress.
Insurers with value-added CISSAs incorporate the results
from the self-assessment into its key strategic decisions.
Common areas where CISSA results are integrated into
business decisions include:
Strategic planning
Defining risk appetite
Capital allocation
Rating agency considerations
Reinsurance strategy
Profitability measurement
M&A
As part of the CISSA, the Board must review risk
governance policies and processes.
Stress Testing
Commercial insurers are also required to submit
supplementary quantitative analysis describing the
impacts of certain stresses on statutory surplus. The
scenarios under consideration are a combination of those
prescribed by the BMA, insurer-specific underwriting
scenarios, and reverse stress tests.
When quantifying the financial impact of a particular
stress test, it is important to consider the following key
dimensions:
Business Strategy:
Changes to volume of
exposure
Risk Strategy:
Changes to allocation of
risk portfolio
Financial Strategy:
Changes to capital
structure
Environment:
Progression along
business/market cycles
Dimensions of
stress testing
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 19
Beginning with financial year 2016, commercial insurers are required to submit a Financial
Condition Report (FCR), which is to be made publicly available. The report provides risk
disclosure with respect to five key areas.
Pillar 3 reporting
Financial Condition Report
The FCR requires the insurer to discuss its risk management function and overall business operations with respect to five
key areas: business & performance, system of governance, risk profile, solvency valuation, and capital management.
This structure is analogous to similar disclosure requirements under Solvency II.
Business &
Performance
Ownership
Group structure
Insurance
business
Investment
portfolio
System of
Governance
Board and
senior
management
Fitness and
propriety
Key functions
CISSA
Outsourcing
Risk Profile
Material risks
Risk mitigation
Concentrations
Prudent person
principle
Stress testing
Solvency
Valuation
Valuation bases
Recoverables
Capital
Management
Eligible capital
Regulatory
capital
Internal capital
modeling
Partial model
integration
Other
Subsequent
events
20
Transition to new regime
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 21
In its continued effort to maintain Solvency II equivalence, the BMA planned several
refinements to the BSCR standard model which were recently field-tested prior to
implementation. The changes came into effect 1/1/2019 and phased-in over a ten year
period for long-term insurers.
Transition to new regime
Area Anticipated change
Equity risk
In the current regime, equity risk charges range from 5% to 55% by type of holding. The new
regime introduces various changes to these charges, notably increasing the charge on common
stocks from 14.4% to 35%. Additionally, strategic or duration based holdings are now charged
20%. Short positions used for hedging purposes may be netted.
Additionally, equity holdings are classified into three buckets, which are assumed to be 75%
pairwise correlated, as opposed to perfect correlation in the current framework.
Risk aggregation
In the current regime, risks are generally considered to be independent, with a few exceptions,
leading to generous diversification benefits. The new regime uses multiple layers of correlation
matrices, consistent with the Solvency II approach.
Operational risk
In the current regime, the operational risk surcharge ranges from 1% to 10% according to the
insurer’s score on the CIRA. The scoring process is unchanged; however, the new regime
changes the associated range of surcharges to 1% to 20%, and steepening the scale such that
insurers are further incentivized to implement comprehensive operational risk frameworks.
Deferred taxes
The BMA recognizes that certain Bermuda-licensed insurers pay taxes in a foreign jurisdiction,
and consequently any loss absorbing capacity resulting from such should be deducted from the
insurer’s capital requirements. The new regime sets adjustment limits based on a combination
of carried-back losses, current net DTL position, and anticipated carried-forward losses.
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 22
Transition to new regime (cont’d)
Area Anticipated change
Premium risk
In the current regime, premium risk exposure only considers net written premiums for the
current reporting year. To better align with Solvency II, the scope for premium risk charge is
expanded to include potential growth in earned premium over the following year, as well as
future earned premiums on multi-year contracts.
Risk mitigation
The BMA recognizes that risk mitigation techniques are central to many insurers’ business
strategies, and will allow adjustments to capital requirements subject to certain criteria on the
permanence and legal enforceability of such mitigation.
Look through
In the current regime, risk charges for investments in collective investment vehicles or funds
are evaluated on a total basis. The new regime requires “looking through” to the underlying
assets within the fund and determining risk charges on an individual basis.
If individual asset information cannot be reliably obtained, risk charges may be calculated based
on a target allocation provided that the underlying assets are strictly managed to these targets,
or based on investment limits, representing the riskiest allocation that is at any time
permissible within the investment strategy.
Phase-in
Proposed changes will be linearly graded in over three
reporting years beginning with the 2019 year-end filings.
© 2019 DCB Holding Ltd. and its affiliates 23
Contact us
Heldar Carreiro
Director
Audit and Advisory
Bermuda
+1 441 299 1308
Gokul Sudarsana
Director
Actuarial, Risk & Analytics
Bermuda
+1 441 298 1132
gokul.sudarsana@deloitte.com
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