- Overview
- Contact
- Administration of the 2005 Insurance Act and the 2009 External Insurance Act
- Insurance market surveillance
- Promotion and encouragement of sound and prudent insurance management and business practices
- Advice to the Minister of Finance on insurance matters
- Compliance with Financial Transactions Reporting Act and Anti- Money Laundering legislation
- to maintain surveillance over the insurance market.
- to promote and encourage sound and prudent insurance management and business practices.
- to advise the Minister responsible for insurance matters regarding the insurance market.
- to ensure that the provisions of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, and other anti-money laundering legislation are being complied with. and
- to do such other things as may be prescribed by this Act or any other written law.
- Impose any condition, limitation or restriction on companies or intermediaries, their operations or their investments.
- Amend or revoke any registration, authorisation, permission, condition, restriction or limitation.
- Require that companies and intermediaries, or their directors, officers, employees, shareholders or policyholders, take or refrain from taking any action the commission deems necessary.
- Require the filing of any document or information, and determine the form and content of any document.
- Require the production of any information, documentation or explanation from any company or insurance intermediary, including the directors, officers, auditor, actuary and any former auditor or actuary employees, shareholders or policyholders of such company or insurance intermediary.
- Require an appraisal of the real property of a company, the cost of which shall be borne by the company.
- Substitute the appraised value of an asset in place of the value stated by the company.
- Specify additional classes of insurance business in which a company is authorised to engage.
- Treat insurance business of a specified class as if it were insurance business of another unspecified class.
- Extend any period of time specified in the act or the regulations.
- Exempt any person or class or persons, or any class or part of any class of insurance business from any provision of this act or the regulations, subject to such terms and conditions, as may in the commission’s opinion be appropriate.
- Assist and cooperate with local and overseas regulatory authorities.
- Make rules and issue directives providing for such matters as may be necessary or expedient for the carrying out of its responsibilities.
- To be the supervisory and regulatory authority for the insurance industry
- To ensure the protection of policyholders’ interests
- To ensure the solvency of insures and re-insurers conducting business under the Domestic and External Insurance Acts
- To facilitate the orderly functioning of re-insurers, insurers, and intermediaries; and
- To give effect to associated matters both domestic and international.
Mrs Michele Fields, Superintendent
The Insurance Commission of The Bahamas was established on July 2, 2009, under The Insurance Act 2005, Chapter 347, and is responsible for the regulation and control of all insurers and intermediaries.
In its role as both the prudential and market conduct regulator, its purpose is to ensure a sound and stable insurance marketplace and consumer confidence in the insurance industry.
The mandate of the Commission includes:
Functions
The functions of the Commission are:
The Commission has the have power to:
Mission Statement
To protect the interests of the insuring public through the prudential supervision of the insurance industry operating in and from The Bahamas.
Purpose
To strengthen the protection given to policyholders under the existing act; to increase the capital and solvency requirements of insurance companies; to expand the existing regulatory framework; to provide for the establishment of a supervisory authority; to include the regulating of all insurance intermediaries; and to give effect to matters related thereto.
