The Bermuda Monetary Authority has launched a new initiative aimed at cutting bureaucracy for the island’s insurers and reinsurers, pledging that entities will stop having to report the same information twice.

The new rules pledge to make administration easier for insurers without lowering standards.

A BMA notice said “regulatory burden reduction means removing unnecessary cost, duplication, administrative friction and inefficient processes — particularly in reporting, filings and supervisory interactions — where these do not improve supervisory insight or policyholder outcomes”.

The BMA acknowledged that over time, supervisory requirements and international standards have led to layers of returns, schedules and documents, and sometimes identical information is captured.

“We will eliminate duplication and friction in reporting and we will not ask insurers to deliver the same information in multiple formats when one will do,” the authority said.

The initiative will focus on consolidating overlapping returns, harmonising definitions and developing a common data dictionary under a “collect once, reuse many times” approach.

The BMA also plans to make more use of its secure electronic portal so insurers can submit applications, track their status and receive decision letters all in one place.

The regulator stressed that the move does not represent deregulation. It said capital requirements, governance expectations and prudential standards will remain, and supervisory intensity could even increase where there is elevated risk.

Industry engagement will take place throughout the year, with changes introduced in phases.