Two pieces of legislation to ensure better compliance with Bermuda-based companies were passed in the House of Assembly last week.

The Insurance Amendment No 2 Act 2025 introduced provisions to strengthen the Bermuda Monetary Authority’s oversight of the insurance industry.

David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, said that act would cover associate companies of businesses that operated in Bermuda, even if they were not within the island.

Mr Burt said the amendment would allow the BMA to require a supervisor for the Bermuda group and offer a means of registering as the designated insurance holding company.

The amendment would further require the designated holding company to notify the BMA of any mergers or changes in designation.

Mr Burt said on Friday: “The proposal set out in the Bill reflects the authority’s ongoing commitment to creating an effective supervision framework that is aligned with international standards and criteria upon which Bermuda is assessed.”

The Beneficial Ownership Amendment Act 2025 was designed to tweak the substantive legislation to align with international business standards.

Mr Burt explained that the amendment was designed to streamline signing up for the newly implemented list of beneficial owners of Bermudian-based companies.

He acknowledged: “It is the obvious question — ‘why would the Government come back to repeal an entire section just a few months after passing a bill?’

“Upon normal registration, this section would’ve operated as intended.

“However, upon implementation, the industry discovered that certain commercial transactions could be impeded.

“The only effective remedy would be to repeal this section and reconsider how the gatekeeping function in relation to shareholders may be introduced.”

The Beneficial Ownership Act, which was passed in September, established the legislative framework for a central registry of beneficial owners.

It was designed to help the principal Act fall better in line with the Financial Action Task Force’s requirements to make sure authorities had “access to adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the beneficial ownership of legal persons created in Bermuda and those with sufficient links to the jurisdiction”.

Scott Pearman, the Shadow Attorney-General, welcomed the amendment.

He said: “This is a good example where industry and Government, in a jurisdiction such as ours, can be nimble, can be flexible and can recognise if perhaps something is not as it should be and fix it both expeditiously and with mutual support.”