Reinsurance News
Solvency II
Italy adjusts Solvency II rules to help insurers endure coronavirus
19th March 2020
In response to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Italian Government has reduced the requirements for applying a country-specific volatility adjustment to strengthen Italian insurers’ regulatory Solvency II ratios. The measure is part of a decree aimed at mitigating coronavirus pandemic-related effects, including economic contraction, materially slowing business activity, falling equity ... Read the full article
Insurance Europe calls for more focused Solvency II review
17th January 2020
Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation, has levelled a number of criticisms against the 2020 review of Solvency II recently drafted by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). Analysts argue that the draft advice provided by EIOPA includes a very large number of ideas and proposals, some ... Read the full article
Solvency II 2020 review could disrupt re/insurers’ solvency ratios: S&P
14th January 2020
Re/insurers could see their Solvency II ratio impacted between 30 and 70 percentage points as the industry gears up for the long-awaited 2020 review of the European regulation, according to S&P Global Ratings. Following a request by the European Commission, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) in October 2019 ... Read the full article
Insurance Europe calls for appropriate Solvency II application in all member states
23rd October 2019
Insurance Europe, the European insurance and reinsurance federation, has said it opposes an EU initiative on insurance guarantee schemes (IGS), maintaining that policymakers’ priority should be to ensure Solvency II is applied appropriately in all member states. The comments came in response to a recent consultation by the European Insurance and ... Read the full article
Low interest rates hit French life sector solvency: Moody’s
16th October 2019
French life re/insurers’ Solvency II ratios declined during the first nine month of 2019 as falling interest rates signalled pressure on future profits, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Interest rates have fallen significantly in 2019, causing some large French life insurers’ Solvency II ratios declined between 15 and 23 percentage points ... Read the full article
UK should seek reinsurance equivalence with EU after Brexit, says LMG
29th July 2019
The London Market Group (LMG) has urged the UK Government to seek reinsurance equivalence under Solvency II regulations to guarantee London market firms continued access to the EU market after Brexit. When negotiating its future trading relationship with the EU, the LMG argued that the UK should prioritise the access of ... Read the full article
Solvency II confusion has constrained Guernsey reinsurance, experts argue
19th July 2019
Representatives from Guernsey Finance, the promotional agency for the island’s finance industry, have argued that common misunderstandings about Solvency II regulations have constrained the development of the reinsurance sector in the island. Speaking at Guernsey Finance’s ILS Insight event in Zurich, experts clarified that Guernsey reinsurance is still available to EU-domiciled ... Read the full article
Re/insurers can issue more hybrid debt under Solvency II, but ratings may suffer: S&P
3rd June 2019
European re/insurers operating under Solvency II regulations have the flexibility to issue further hybrid capital if needed, according to a new report by S&P Global Ratings, but doing so could put credit ratings at risk. Analysts noted that access to hybrid capital is an important element of a re/insurer’s financial strength, ... Read the full article
Mexico showing strong re/insurance growth despite regulatory concerns: A.M. Best
17th May 2019
A.M. Best believes that Mexico continues to offer significant growth opportunities for re/insurers and has even benefited from the introduction of the Solvency II framework, which some anticipated would be a limiting factor for the market. The rating agency noted that premium growth has been inconsistent since the regulatory system was ... Read the full article
SCOR consolidates Global Life, P&C units into SCOR SE
1st April 2019
French reinsurance firm SCOR has announced that it has completed the merger of SCOR Global Life SE and SCOR Global P&C SE into SCOR SE as part of its plan to optimise its operational and legal structure and its level of regulatory capital. The units were merged on March 31, 2019 ... Read the full article
Solvency II proposals show “lack of progress” on key issues: Insurance Europe
11th March 2019
The adoption of the European Commission’s final acts amending the Solvency II delegated regulation show a “lack of progress” on a number of key issues, according to Insurance Europe. Olav Jones, deputy director general of Insurance Europe, explained that the proposals introduce some basic improvements but fail to address major industry ... Read the full article
Solvency II review a missed opportunity for CMU progress: Insurance Europe
3rd December 2018
While progress has been made on the European Commission’s Capital Markets Union (CMU) project, several important points remain unaddressed, according to the Deputy Director General of Insurance Europe, Olav Jones. One of the aims of the CMU is to address regulatory barriers to investment, including prudential issues under Solvency II that ... Read the full article
European life re/insurers benefit from shift to higher margin products: J.P. Morgan
27th November 2018
European life re/insurers are to benefit from the introduction of higher margin products going forward, which is reflected in the life operating margin recently posted by Italian insurer Generali, according to analysts at J.P. Morgan. The firm attributed Generali’s higher operating margin to the new, lower guarantee products that it ... Read the full article
Lloyd’s Brussels to write FAC and non-proportional XOL treaty reinsurance at 1/1
29th October 2018
The Lloyd's insurance and reinsurance market has announced that its Brussels base will be ready to underwrite facultative reinsurance and non-proportional excess of loss treaty reinsurance using Lloyd’s Brussels paper from 1st January 2019 across all markets in the EEA. At the same time the market said that if the UK ... Read the full article
Solvency II beneficial but detering long-term business, survey shows
5th July 2018
A Europe-wide survey of insurers has indicated that the European Union’s Solvency II regulatory regime brings benefits but ultimately deters long-term business. Andreas Brandstetter, Insurance Europe president, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman of UNIQA Insurance Group, said, "The European Commission’s 2020 review of Solvency II must address the regulation’s overly ... Read the full article
Getting your daily reinsurance news from Reinsurance News is a simple way to receive only the reinsurance industry news that matters, delivered directly to your email inbox.
