Bermuda?s insurance regulator on Friday said Bermuda?s increasing stature as a reinsurance centre should be matched by a reputation for strong regulation.

?We have to be at the table, involved in discussions to develop regulation of the industry,? said Jeremy Cox, superintendent of the insurance supervisory division of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Bermuda?s financial services regulator.

An international standard for reinsurance regulation didn?t exist before 2003, Mr. Cox said. In 2001 he joined the International Association of Insurance Supervisors? technical committee to adapt 28 core principals to apply to regulation of both insurance and reinsurance sectors. Reinsurers sell policies to insurers to spread the risk of loss contained in policies bought by corporations and individuals.

He?s also working to foster relationships with other regulators, given that the business of most of Bermuda?s insurers and reinsurers is global in nature.

?It is crucial for us to have positive relationships with sister regulators,? he said in a telephone interview. ?Although a small Island, we clearly are an important market.?

Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers now have combined capital of $100 billion, and 13 of the world?s top 40 reinsurers are based in Bermuda, according to a 2005 Standard & Poor?s report.

Details of how Bermuda is building stronger links with the UK?s Financial Services Authority emerged last week at an industry conference, and could eventually lead to reciprocal recognition of each other?s regulatory powers.

Mr. Cox said the IAIS, of which Bermuda is a member, has the ultimate goal of moving towards a mutual regulation standard.

Mr. Cox said it could take a few years before the IAIS sets a common standard for regulators to use as a blueprint for mutual recognition, including a standard capital adequacy model. Under a mutual recognition agreement, insurers out of either domicile would be considered as acceptably regulated by the ?home? regulator, and not necessarily subjected to additional regulation.

An agreement for mutual recognition would mean less red tape for insurers that have operations in both Bermuda and London, in the case of an agreement with the FSA. ?That is what we in Bermuda need, to have it recognised that we can be relied on as regulators, by other regulators,? Mr. Cox said.