The Bailiwick of Guernsey has applied to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for Qualified Jurisdiction status.
The application is part of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission’s work to support Guernsey’s position as a specialist, well-regulated and internationally cooperative insurance and reinsurance jurisdiction. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Mutual Recognition of Jurisdictions Working Group oversees the process for evaluating jurisdictions and maintains its lists of Qualified Jurisdictions and Reciprocal Jurisdictions.
Guernsey’s application sets out the island’s regulatory framework, insurance sector, supervisory approach, cooperation arrangements and other matters relevant to the review process. It covers laws and regulations, regulatory practices, reinsurer performance, enforcement of final US judgments and solvent schemes of arrangement.
Guernsey is a long-established international finance centre with more than 50 years of expertise across insurance, banking, private wealth, investment and funds, pensions and sustainable finance. Financial services contributed £1.3 billion and accounted for 40% of Guernsey’s Gross Value Added in early 2025.
The island’s insurance sector is internationally focused and includes captives, commercial general insurers, commercial reinsurers, commercial life insurers, special purpose vehicles and cell structures. As at 31 December 2025, Guernsey had 549 licensed insurance entities, including 327 non-cellular insurance companies and 222 protected cell company cells.
William Mason (pictured), Director General of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, said: “Guernsey has a long and successful track record as an international insurance centre. Our application to the NAIC is an opportunity to demonstrate the depth of its insurance expertise, the quality of the island’s regulatory framework and the Commission’s commitment to constructive cooperation with US state insurance regulators. We are seeking to show that Guernsey is a serious, well-regulated and responsive supervisory counterpart.”
Katherine Jane, Deputy Director General (Risk and Operations) of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, said: “The Commission is actively engaged in international insurance supervision through the IAIS and related international regulatory forums. That international perspective is central to how we approach this work. Guernsey’s regime is based on proportionate, risk-based supervision, strong governance expectations and a clear commitment to regulatory cooperation. Those are the standards we are seeking to evidence through the NAIC process.”
Lisa Peterson, Chief Actuary at the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, said: “Before joining the Commission, I worked at Canada’s insurance and pensions regulator, and one of the things that has struck me since working in Guernsey is how familiar many aspects of the regime feel from a North American supervisory perspective. Guernsey’s approach is proportionate and tailored to the nature of its market, but it is also grounded in the same core objectives: solvency, policyholder protection, sound governance and effective cooperation between regulators.”
