The Bermuda Monetary Authority — the island’s central financial regulator — has issued a stark public warning about Custody Life Bermuda Ltd, a company that appears to be presenting itself as a fully authorized digital life insurer. According to the BMA, the firm is not licensed, registered, or regulated by the authority in any capacity, despite what its website may suggest. The warning centers on custodylife.com, a site that, in the eyes of regulators, is making assertions that simply do not hold up to official scrutiny. The BMA’s statement is a reminder that appearances can be deceiving, especially in the world of finance and insurance, where a professional website and confident language are no substitute for actual regulatory approval. For anyone doing business in Bermuda’s insurance market, or considering a product from a company claiming to be based there, this warning is intended to stop people in their tracks and make them think twice before handing over money or personal information.
The claims made by Custody Life Bermuda Ltd are serious. Its website reportedly states that the company holds what is described as an “innovative life-insurance charter” from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It also claims to be licensed and regulated as a digital life insurer under something called Class IILT — a category that, in reality, refers to a specific class of long-term insurance license in Bermuda for insurers operating on an innovative or digital basis. The problem, according to the BMA, is that none of this is true. The company does not have such a charter, has not been granted that license, and is not authorized to use that terminology to describe its legal standing. To be clear, Bermuda does have a sophisticated insurance licensing framework, and there are legitimate companies that operate under Class IILT. But Custody Life Bermuda Ltd is not one of them. The regulator’s language is deliberately firm: the company is falsely stating that it is something it is not, and that false statement sits at the heart of the public warning.
What makes this especially concerning is the gap between what the company claims and what the regulator knows to be true. The BMA has confirmed that Custody Life Bermuda Ltd is not registered to conduct insurance business under the Insurance Act 1978, which is the primary legislation under which insurers in Bermuda are regulated. It is also not licensed under any other Bermuda law administered by the authority. That covers a considerable amount of ground, because the BMA oversees not just insurance, but also banks, trust companies, investment businesses, and other financial services. In other words, the company is not authorized to do any of the things that its website appears to suggest it can do. The phrase “innovative life-insurance charter” might sound plausible to someone unfamiliar with Bermuda’s regulatory structure, but in this case, it is an empty claim. A charter is not the same as a license, and even the word “charter” appears to be used in a loose and misleading way. The regulator is making it clear that there is no legal foundation for the company’s claims.
Why does this matter so much? The simple answer is risk. When you do business with a regulated insurance company, the regulator stands behind the system in important ways. Insurance companies in Bermuda are subject to ongoing supervision, capital requirements, governance standards, and reporting duties. They are expected to treat customers fairly, to hold enough money to pay legitimate claims, and to operate in a transparent manner. If something goes wrong, there is a regulatory process for investigating complaints, a legal framework for resolving disputes, and, in many cases, protection mechanisms that provide some degree of comfort to policyholders. None of that exists with an unregulated entity. The BMA does not oversee Custody Life Bermuda Ltd’s activities, and that means no one is monitoring how it handles customer money, whether it is making financial promises it cannot keep, or whether it is engaging in practices that would never be tolerated under a valid license. The regulator warns that dealing with unregulated entities may expose investors and the public to greater risk. That is a diplomatic way of saying that you could lose money, that you may have no realistic way to get it back, and that any promises made by the company may be entirely meaningless.
In response to this situation, the BMA has taken the concrete step of adding Custody Life Bermuda Ltd to its official warning list. This list is used to highlight firms and individuals that have either falsely claimed to be licensed or registered by the authority, or that have been found to be undertaking unregulated activity. Being added to this list is not a trivial matter. It is a public marker that the regulator does not recognize the company as legitimate and wants anyone considering doing business with it to know that. The BMA’s advice is blunt and without any hedging: anyone who chooses to conduct business with Custody Life Bermuda Ltd does so at their own risk. There is no safety net. There is no ombudsman. There is no regulator to turn to if the company fails to deliver on its promises. The company appears to be positioning itself as a digital life insurer, which in itself is not unusual — Bermuda has embraced innovation and has created legitimate pathways for digital insurers. But the difference between a company that has gone through the proper process and one that simply claims to have done so is enormous. The warning list exists precisely to help people spot that difference before it is too late.
The takeaway from this warning is not just about Custody Life Bermuda Ltd specifically, but about the broader importance of verification. In an age where websites can look polished and convincing within hours, it is easy to be taken in by well-worded marketing materials. But for anyone considering an insurance product or another regulated financial service, the first step should always be to check whether the company is actually authorized by the relevant regulator. In Bermuda, the BMA provides clear channels for this — public registers, lists, and direct inquiries — and consumers are encouraged to use them. The warning about Custody Life Bermuda Ltd should serve as a reminder that a claim on a website is not a document from a regulator. A charter is not a license. Being “based” somewhere is not the same as being authorized there. And when a company pretends to hold regulatory approval it does not have, it is not making a small mistake — it is making a deliberate choice that should raise immediate alarm bells. The BMA has done its part by putting the public on notice. Now it is up to individuals to take that warning seriously, to do their homework, and to protect themselves from entities that operate in the shadows, outside the rules that keep the rest of the system honest.