Bermuda should be treated as a jurisdiction that already has equivalence with the EU’s new insurance regulatory framework, Solvency II, according to a top official of the European Commission (EC).

The comments of Olivier Guersent clearly indicate the EC’s support for the Island’s bid for “third-country equivalence”.

When the EC gives the thumbs-up officially, it will table draft legislation in the European Parliament, after which member states will get up to three months to give their input. Only then can Bermuda’s equivalent status be complete.

Mr Guersent, the director-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union said that the Commission is in the process of adopting two equivalence decisions, concerning Bermuda and Japan.

Speaking at a conference in Frankfurt, organised by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, Mr Guersent urged national supervisors to ignore the final steps of the legislative process, according to a report by the online trade publication Insurance ERM.

“I don’t think that national supervisors should actively treat non-EU countries as non-equivalent in the meantime if there is a positive Commission equivalence decision pending in EP and Council scrutiny,” he said.

“They should exercise forbearance in this respect. In the Commission’s view, they should take into account the still-draft equivalence decision, otherwise they might take actions that could have to be reversed shortly afterwards.”

Switzerland was the first country to earn third-country equivalence with the new regulations which will bolster capital requirements and standards of corporate governance for insurers doing business in the European Union.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority, Bermuda’s financial regulator, has applied for equivalence in a multiyear effort — supported by the industry — that will help to ensure Bermuda-based firms are not disadvantaged when writing business in Europe.