The Financial Services Commission of Montserrat has become a member of the Caribbean Association of Insurance Regulators (CAIR) Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU), an agreement for exchange of information and cooperation & consultation. Mr. Ruwan Jayasekera, President of CAIR commented that “I’m delighted about Montserrat’s decision to become a member of the CAIR MMoU. Collaboration among regulators in the region is key to achieve our common goals of market stability and policyholder protection. The CAIR MMoU is a formal framework to provide mutual assistance and exchange of information among the regional insurance regulators and I encourage the remaining jurisdictions to reconsider their positions and become signatories to the MMOU.”

The MMoU is a regional framework to facilitate the exchange of information among the regional regulatory authorities (Authorities) to secure compliance with any Laws, Regulations, or Rules relating to the functions and duties of the Authorities in their respective jurisdictions.

Signatories to the MMoU can exchange information that ultimately serves to promote the integrity, efficiency, and financial soundness of the Authorities regulated entities by improving the effective regulation and enhancement of supervision of cross-border operations.
A complete list of regional signatories and a copy of the MMoU can be found here on the CAIR website.

The current Executive Council has been re-appointed for 2020-2022. Following the completion of nominations and the election during the Annual General Meeting held on 18 June 2020, it was unanimously agreed for each member of the Council to continue in their positions for another 2 year-term.

The Executive Council is comprised of the following:

President – Cayman Islands (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority)
Vice-President – Barbados (Financial Services Commission)
Treasurer –  Turks & Caicos (Turks & Caicos Islands Financial Services Commission)
Secretary – The Bahamas (Insurance Commission of The Bahamas)

Mr. Craig Swan, Deputy Chief Executive Office of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) stated, “We are delighted and value this membership. The BMA’s intention is to continue to contribute the organization’s collective efforts while enhancing our relationship with Caribbean supervisors.”

Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach Esq. of USVI stated, “I am pleased with the favorable outcome and thank the team at the Division of Banking, Insurance and Financial Regulation for all their efforts and due diligence. The decision to seek CAIR’s membership come out of recognition of our share interest and responsibilities.”

Mr. Ruwan Jayasekera stated, “Addition of Bermuda and USVI as full members of CAIR is a significant milestone in CAIR’s ongoing efforts to expand its membership to become a stronger Association in order to support the development and enforcement of insurance regulation in the region according to internationally accepted standards. Bermuda and USVI are matured insurance jurisdictions and their addition to the Association will benefit existing members.”

All applicants are subject to be reviewed by the Executive Council and consideration at a General Meeting. On 18 June 2020, members unanimously agreed for both jurisdictions appointment as members of CAIR. A complete list of members can be found here on the CAIR website.

At the meeting on 13 May, members had the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts on the current situation of the insurance industry in the Caribbean and ways to best approach insurance regulation in the context of COVID-19 and economic challenges. Members were grateful for the opportunity to discuss the various challenges faced by many member jurisdictions and the way forward.

CAIR has announced that despite the cancellation of the 2020 Annual Conference, the Association will continue to organize trainings of interest via webinars.

In light of the current situation with the COVID-19 crisis globally, the CAIR-CARTAC 2020 Annual Conference to be held in St. Lucia on 17-19 June has been canceled.

As the CAIR Annual General Meetings are held simultaneously with the Annual Conference, the Executive Council of CAIR has agreed to host CAIR 2020 Annual General Meeting virtually on Thursday, 18 June 2020.