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IAIS adopts Insurance Capital Standard and other enhancements to its global standards to promote a resilient insurance sector

08 January 2025

At its Annual General Meeting recently, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) adopted the global Insurance Capital Standard (ICS). Additionally, members endorsed substantial updates to the IAIS Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) and Common Framework for the supervision of internationally active insurance groups (ComFrame). This significant milestone marks a major advancement in insurance supervision – enhancing financial stability and building a more resilient global insurance sector to better serve and protect policyholders around the world. Continue reading…

ECB and EIOPA propose European approach to reduce economic impact of natural catastrophes

26 December 2024

The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) have on 18 December released a joint paper with a proposal designed to reduce the economic impact of natural catastrophes in the EU. The paper builds on the policy options presented in a 2023 joint ECB-EIOPA discussion paper which advocated a ladder approach to natural catastrophe insurance involving both the private and public sectors. Continue reading…

IAIS Executive Committee approves Insurance Capital Standard for adoption by IAIS members and concludes Aggregation Method comparability assessment

22 November 2024

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Executive Committee has approved the final version of the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) as a prescribed capital requirement for internationally active insurance groups (IAIGs), which will be recommended for adoption at the IAIS Annual General Meeting on 5 December 2024. Continue reading…

FCA launches premium finance market study alongside new Government insurance taskforce

21 October 2024

The FCA has announced a package of work in the insurance market amid concerns about rising prices, alongside the launch of the Government motor insurance taskforce. The FCA has launched a review, known as a competition market study, to see whether people who borrow to pay for motor and home insurance are receiving fair, competitive deals. Premium finance allows people to pay for insurance in instalments. With the average yearly rate on the amount of money borrowed ranging between 20 to 30%, the FCA is concerned that premium finance may not be providing fair value. Continue reading…

FCA calls on insurers to ensure they demonstrate fair value and good customer outcomes

27 August 2024

Insurers and brokers have improved governance and oversight of how products are designed, managed, reviewed, and distributed, but many still cannot show how they are providing fair value to customers or that they were receiving good outcomes. In a report published recently, the FCA set out issues with information sharing between insurers and brokers, and in identifying target markets. Continue reading…

IAIS charts course on Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) implementation ahead of adoption in December 2024

19 July 2024
Knowledge Base

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has recently published the 2024 ICS data collection package for the final year of the monitoring period and announced its high-level plans for ICS implementation. “Ahead of the ICS’s planned adoption at the end of the year, we are pleased to publish the 2024 ICS technical specifications,” remarked Shigeru Ariizumi, IAIS Executive Committee Chair. “Comments received in response to the 2023 public consultation helped enhance the ICS design, which is now almost ready for adoption. This has enabled us to increase our focus on supporting the comprehensive and consistent implementation of the ICS by jurisdictions.”  Continue reading…

IAIS Roadmap outlines key deliverables for 2024

11 April 2024
Knowledge Base

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published its 2024 Roadmap. The Roadmap outlines the IAIS’ work programme and is guided by the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. The 2024 Roadmap provides substantial continuity in the IAIS’ workplan. “Significantly, 2024 marks the culmination of a 13-year journey for the global Insurance Capital Standard (ICS), including extensive data collection and analysis, broad global participation from supervisors and insurance groups during the monitoring period and rigorous consultation,” said Jonathan Dixon, IAIS Secretary General. Continue reading…

Lieve Lowet

Lieve Lowet

EU Affairs consultant and lobbyist

The EU extends the US provisional equivalence in the area of insurance or reinsurance group solvency calculation

25 March 2024

On 14 March 2024, the European Commission decided to extend the provisional equivalence decision regarding the insurance and reinsurance solvency regime in force in the US. The regime applicable to insurance and reinsurance undertakings with head offices in the US is to be considered provisionally equivalent to the solvency rules related to the valuation of assets and liabilities, technical provisions, own funds, SCR, MCR and investment rules as laid down in Solvency II (SII). “EU insurance groups will be able to calculate capital requirements for their operations in the US on the basis of local rules. By eliminating the need to reconcile with EU rules, European groups can continue to operate on an equal footing with their American counterparts, and to benefit from alleviated administrative burden and reduced costs”, thus the Commission. Continue reading…

GAP insurers agree to suspend sales following FCA concerns over fair value

16 February 2024
Knowledge Base

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that multiple insurance firms have agreed to pause sales of Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) insurance, following a request from the FCA. The firms which have agreed to this action account for 80% of the GAP market. The regulator will carry out a second tranche of engagement with the rest of the GAP market, with the aim of improving the value of the product across all firms. These firms have agreed not to use new distributors of GAP in the interim. GAP insurance is typically sold alongside car finance. It covers the difference between a vehicle’s purchase price or outstanding finance and its current market value, in the event it is written off before finance has been repaid. The FCA is concerned that the product is failing to provide fair value to some consumers.
Continue reading…