Legislation tabled in the House of Assembly on Friday would give the Bermuda Monetary Authority greater powers in seeking information from insurance companies.

The bill, called the Insurance Amendment Act 2002, has yet to be debated in the House but were it to be passed into law would enable the BMA's insurance division greater rights in obtaining information and in the preparation of reports on insurance companies and persons registered under the Act.

The amendment bill, which would make changes to the Insurance Act 1978, would enable the Authority to seek whatever information it had deemed as required as "material to the performance of its functions under the Act" including unpublished information.

The BMA would also be legally able to make copies of the information and appoint a report of any company as deemed necessary. The cost of the report would however fall to the Authority, as it had commissioned it.

The changes to the Act would also make any fees payable under the Act due to the BMA rather than Government.

The shift in fees to the BMA follows insurance regulation being taken away from Government and given to the BMA last year.

The move was in line with recommendations from the KPMG review to ensure that as an offshore jurisdiction Bermuda was in line with international standards.

The BMA has now become the sole regulatory body for insurance and the financial services sector in Bermuda.

Further details on the legislative changes were sought from the BMA's insurance division on Friday but were unsuccessful as Insurance Supervisor Jeremy Cox was not in the office on Friday and calls left for other management in the insurance division had not been returned by press time.