Suzanne Williams-Charles, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers (BILTIR), has stated that key expectations for 2025 across Bermuda is for long term insurers, specifically, to continue to maintain strong solvency, have strong reserving, as well as having a key focus on risk management on the back of a suite of regulatory enhancements introduced by the BMA in 2024.
Speaking with Reinsurance News, Williams-Charles outlined a number of emerging trends that the reinsurance and insurance sector should expect to see across Bermuda throughout 2025.
Williams-Charles explains that the life and annuity reinsurance business is primed for growth, but that it’s imperative that correctly assessing investment risks are key to guiding the industry into the future.
“There’s an increasing awareness that the aging global population doesn’t have all the protection that’s needed. So in order for the life market to continue to grow – and I expect it to continue to grow – in Bermuda, it’s going to have to be done in an environment that not only encourages growth, but also supports responsible growth.”
She continued, “Anybody that knows anything about insurance and reinsurance knows that capital alone is not going to cut it if you don’t have effective risk management. You can have a lot of capital, but if there are no controls in place to properly evaluate the risk, and make sure there are mitigants, then that capital can be eroded quite quickly.”
The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) introduced a number of enhancements in 2025, and according to Williams-Charles, BILTIR members have implemented those enhancements. She noted, “only companies that are committed to operating in a reputable jurisdiction will likely be able to meet these standards. I think that the trend will be for growth in Bermuda, but growth and new entrants will be coming into this market understanding that they will have to meet a very high standard.”
Readers may recall, that Williams-Charles joined BILTIR in January 2024, following her previous stint as Director of Policy and Regulation, Corporate Secretary, and Data Privacy Officer at the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR).
She explained that since joining the organisation, one of her main focuses has been ensuring that BILTIR remains a resource to clarify areas that may be misunderstood across the Bermudian reinsurance and insurance market and globally.
“It’s critical that the regulatory environment is balanced to continue to protect policyholders and support the evolution,” she added.
When it comes to challenges across the Bermudian re/insurance market, Williams-Charles noted that the island has always had to achieve this balance.
“We have an international business sector that essentially is the most significant funding element of our economy. It’s always been known that the environment has to encourage international business to want to operate in Bermuda.
“However, it has to also be seen as a reputable market, and there’s always been that balance. The BMA has to make sure that they’re not only creating an environment that encourages innovation, but also an environment that is going to pass the scrutiny of standard-setters globally.”
Within an industry that has had increased attention in the past year, Williams-Charles says that it has been a natural part of the process as she works to address the misconceptions.
“Right now, we’re in a period of scrutiny, because there has been an evolution. Anytime you make changes, there are going to be people that don’t understand what they are. It’s important for the BMA – and they have done so and will continue to do so – to ensure there are appropriate guardrails to companies that are trying to provide products that the community at large needs.”
In terms of innovation, the re/insurance industry has been adopting artificial intelligence (AI) more frequently and widely throughout the last few years, which has proven to be beneficial for the sector.
We asked Williams-Charles whether she believes that AI has had a positive impact on the re/insurance sector, particularly in Bermuda.
“The insurance and reinsurance industry is really a relationship business. The industry is probably behind other sectors’ technological advances. I don’t think that’s by accident though. I think it’s because historically the insurance and reinsurance industry conduct business in a traditional way. But at some point, you have to acknowledge and understand what your consumers want, how they want to interact, and how the industry can become more efficient.”
Williams-Charles also discussed how regulators are using AI to streamline data collection and that BITLIR members are eager to work with regulators to align on AI implementation from an industry wide perspective.
“From a regulatory environment, I know that the BMA is looking at using AI to enhance the way they supervise and collect information. Interestingly enough, our members have started to reach out to me about proactively wanting to create working groups to discuss and share ideas on how AI can be utilized and the connection to the regulatory environment. They also want to explore how any changes to the way that they operate that includes AI will be viewed from a regulatory perspective. Because anything that you do in your company is going to ultimately affect the overall risk assessment from a regulatory perspective. So I think that over the next few years, there’ll likely be some movement in that space and how that impacts the company’s regulatory requirements will be very interesting to see.”
Lastly, Williams-Charles discussed what objectives she has for BILTIR in 2025 and the next few years ahead. Her main goal is to solidify the organisation as a point of reference for information and expertise for the long term reinsurance sector, both on how it operates in the Bermuda territory and on a global scale by breaking down how companies operate and how their risks are managed.
“In terms of goals, I would say gaining brand recognition is something I’m working towards, so that people hear BILTIR and know that it is a resource for information on the long term sector. And that’s what I’ve been doing essentially since I joined the organisation earlier this year. Specifically, a lot of the conversations that I’ve had internationally really highlight significant knowledge gaps, even amongst very key stakeholders in the global policy setting environment, because some of the transactions are quite complex.”
Additionally, Williams-Charles also states that she wants to educate the world on Bermuda’s history in the reinsurance industry and dispel some of the misconceptions that have lingered about the sector within the territory.
“And so there appear to be knowledge gaps present, and as a standard setter, you really need to understand what’s going on in order to make appropriate adjustments to frameworks to cover the risks. One of the things that I’m trying to do is have those conversations over the years. It takes time to make sure that people fully understand what’s being executed in Bermuda, the environment within which is being executed, and continue to look at us as a point of reference,” she concludes.
