House Regulations Committee adopts Insurance Amendment Regulations 2026

The Regulations Committee of the House of Representatives on July 22, 2026 adopted the Insurance Amendment Regulations 2026, which revise how Jamaican insurers qualify for certain investments.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) appeared before the committee to outline the proposal. The amendment updates regulation 47(1) of the Insurance Regulations 2001 and forms part of the FSC’s regulatory modernisation programme. It is also intended to bring Jamaica closer to International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Insurance Core Principle 15 on investments.

Under the existing rule, introduced in 2022, insurers must meet four prescribed conditions at the same time before investing in certain obligations issued by solvent institutions. The committee heard that this cumulative test had sharply limited investment options, reducing diversification, asset-liability matching, access to corporate debt markets, and infrastructure financing.

The revised framework keeps the same prudential criteria but allows an investment to qualify if any one of four conditions is met: the obligation is secured by adequate collateral and carries fixed interest; it is investment-grade and rated by an FSC-recognised ratings agency; the insurer meets prescribed earnings-coverage requirements; or the issuer is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange or another FSC-recognised exchange.

FSC representatives said the change should widen investment choice, support portfolio diversification and asset-liability management, ease financing for productive sectors, aid capital-market development, and strengthen alignment with international risk-based supervisory standards. They stressed that FSC supervisory powers and existing prudential safeguards remain in place, including risk-based investment management requirements under regulation 72B and related provisions 72G, 72J and 72K covering board-approved investment policies, enterprise risk management, capital adequacy and solvency, reporting, and ongoing oversight.

Responding to questions, officials likened “adequate collateral” to a mortgage lender requiring the secured asset to be worth more than the loan. On employment concerns, they said insurers currently struggle to find assets that meet all four tests at once, and that a one-of-four standard should expand opportunities and support profitability rather than job cuts.

Ron Harrison, acting senior director of insurance at the FSC, said that if a security later loses its investment-grade status, the commission would assess the causes, work with the insurer, and could require the holding to be run off and replaced over time under the FSC’s internal risk-based framework.

Apologies were recorded for members Hilton, Paulwell, and Crawford, who was expected late. With no objection raised, the committee adopted the amendments. Minutes deferred earlier in the sitting were later confirmed, and the meeting was adjourned.