Recent Solvency II news

The European Parliament had been due to vote on the Omnbus II directive which underpins Solvency II on 10 June 2013 but it appears that this vote has now been delayed until 22 October 2013.  We have not yet had official confirmation of the reasons for the delay but it is expected that it is to allow for full consideration of a new impact study on aspects of SII (expected in the second half of June).

The head of EIOPA is reported to have said that the rules, which were due to be implemented in January 2014, are now likely to come into force in January 2016, at the earliest.

It is believed that the regulator is due to publish interim guidance procedures this spring, with a focus on pillar 2 requirements of SII (such as governance, risk management and ORSA principles) so that insurers can continue to further develop and stabilise these areas throughout this year.

(updated 14 March 2013)

Update on interactions between The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and the FSA:-

David Hare (President Elect) and Alastair Clarkson (Chair, Life Practice Executive Committee) met with Paul Sharma (Director, Policy Division) and his colleagues at the FSA in December 2012. They highlighted a number of areas where the IFoA could provide useful assistance to the FSA in developing their policy approaches.
Areas where we have been active since then via the Life Insurance PEC and the Solvency II Steering and Current Issues groups are:

• Providing thoughts on the FCA/PRA with-profits Memorandum of Understanding;
• Recommendation of inclusion of GI firms (to include Periodic Payment Orders) in the Long Term Guarantees impact assessment, currently underway, which has now been extended to include a small number of representative firms;
• Discussion about effective implementation of the ICAS+ regime to ensure this enhances the regulatory regime and provides appropriate protection to policyholders;
• Discussion on the role of the Actuarial Function Holder under Solvency II;
• Further development of the approach to monitor the ongoing appropriateness of internal models for Solvency II (the Institute has discussed the regulator's objectives and shared thoughts on potential challenges and solutions. As a consequence, the FSA are looking to actively involve the institute in further developments in this area).

(updated 14 March 2013)

Other news:

Update from the FSA on early use of Solvency II work (ICAS+)

Archived news (as at 03/07/12)