Tightening the net: key regulatory themes of 2026
For insurers operating across borders, 2026 has been a year of heightened regulatory scrutiny. In some markets, this has taken the form of stricter enforcement of long-standing rules. Elsewhere, regulators have introduced new approval requirements for foreign market participants or established dedicated frameworks for emerging products that previously operated with limited oversight.
At Axco, we monitor regulatory developments across more than 170 territories and have observed three themes that stand out this year. First, regulators are increasingly enforcing local insurance requirements that have existed for years, but were often overlooked in practice. Second, foreign players are facing new approval and registration processes to operate on a cross-border basis. Third, a growing number of jurisdictions are introducing dedicated regulatory frameworks for parametric insurance.
Beyond illustrating broader regulatory priorities, several of these developments will have practical implications for insurers and reinsurers as the 1 January 2027 renewal season approaches.
No local cover, no clearance
If one theme has defined non-admitted regulation over the past year, it is tightening requirements. Much of that has come not from new legislation, but from regulators enforcing existing non-admitted rules. At Axco, we have noticed this happening particularly for marine cargo insurance across Africa.
Kenya's requirement that importers buy marine cargo cover from locally licensed insurers is expected to be enforced through customs from November, following a string of postponements. The delays were largely technical, with the integration of digital certification systems proving more challenging than expected.
The result, however, should be a far more robust regime. Compliance will be embedded in the Kenya Revenue Authority's Customs Management System, so imported goods will not be cleared unless a valid certificate from a locally licensed insurer has been digitally verified.
Ghana is following a similar path. Although local cargo insurance has been mandatory since 2006, only an estimated 6% of imports have historically been insured domestically. A directive intended to address this gap was issued in February, while customs-based enforcement is understood to have only commenced in early October. As a result, it remains too soon to assess the full impact of the measures.
The effectiveness of these digital enforcement mechanisms will be closely watched over the coming year. If they succeed in increasing local premium retention, other jurisdictions with under-enforced localisation requirements may be encouraged to adopt similar approaches.
Closing the door to unlisted reinsurance players
Regulators are not only focusing on where insurance business is placed. Increasingly, they are also examining who is permitted to participate in their domestic insurance and reinsurance markets.
In Egypt, foreign reinsurance brokers must now obtain direct approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) before conducting business. Egyptian insurers and reinsurers are prohibited from dealing with reinsurance brokers that do not appear on the regulator's approved list.
To qualify, applicants must satisfy a range of requirements, including authorisation by a comparable home regulator, a clean supervisory record over the previous three years, professional indemnity cover of at least EGP 20 million, and the submission of a feasibility study outlining their proposed activities in the Egyptian market.
Recognising the operational challenges involved, the FRA has extended the transition period twice. The current compliance deadline is 31 October 2026, after which unapproved brokers will effectively be shut out of the Egyptian market. With the January 2027 renewal season approaching, the timing is particularly significant.
Libya is also tightening up rules for foreign reinsurance players, but from quite a different starting point. Since July, foreign reinsurers and their branches or representative offices have been required to register with the supervisory authority before undertaking reinsurance business in the country.
Authorities have described the measure as addressing a regulatory gap that remained following the introduction of the 2005 insurance supervision law, while also bringing the market more closely in line with international standards.
Although transitional arrangements allow existing reinsurance contracts to remain in force until renewal, businesses should ensure they understand and meet the new requirements well before renewal discussions begin.
Parametric regulation moves from the grey zone
Parametric, or index-based, insurance has gained momentum in recent years as interest in innovation and alternative risk transfer has grown. Yet despite growing interest, regulation has often lagged behind market development. In many jurisdictions, parametric products have been forced into frameworks designed for traditional indemnity insurance or have operated under imperfect licensing arrangements.
Over 2026, several markets have issued regulation looking to change that.
In February, Nepal’s insurance regulator introduced a dedicated framework for index-based products covering floods, drought, heatwaves and earthquakes. Each product must define its trigger indices, measurement stations and payout structure, and must be approved by the regulator before launch.
Argentina followed in July. Its rules require every parametric index to be validated by an independent actuary and claims to be paid within 15 calendar days of a trigger being met. Another Latin American market, Peru, introduced its own parametric-specific regulation in September.
Meanwhile, Bermuda is developing a dedicated parametric special purpose insurer class and has confirmed that parametric arrangements can be structured as reinsurance, derivatives or swaps.
Greater regulatory clarity should support the development of parametric products, particularly in markets facing widening protection gaps and increasing climate-related risks. However, the emergence of multiple national frameworks also brings new challenges. Each framework sets its own approval, validation and payout requirements, so carriers and MGAs operating across several markets will need to adapt their products and operations country by country. This also makes it particularly important to track new rules and regulatory changes across markets as they unfold.
Staying ahead of the rules
While these three trends span different regions and areas of insurance regulation, they reflect a common objective: regulators are seeking greater visibility and control over how risk is managed within their markets.
Whether through stricter enforcement of localisation requirements, tighter oversight of foreign market participants, or dedicated frameworks for emerging products like parametric insurance, regulatory expectations are becoming more defined.
For insurers, reinsurers and intermediaries operating internationally, keeping pace with these developments will be essential. The most successful organisations will be those that identify regulatory change early and adapt before compliance deadlines begin to affect business operations.
Axco's Regulatory Alerts service provides regular updates on regulatory, legislative, supervisory and premium tax developments across more than 170 territories, helping firms stay ahead of change and prepare for what comes next.
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