Insurance Europe has called on the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to conclude its Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) project and not make further demands for data from the industry.
Over the past ten years, Insurance Europe has supported the project’s initial aim to promote a sound and global regulatory level playing field through consistent global insurance standards for Internationally Active Insurance Groups (IAIGs).
In its recently adopted position paper, Insurance Europe notes that the European industry has provided extensive support to the international supervisory community in its work by providing vast amounts of data and testing and technical input. The federation of insurance associations warns against making further ICS data requests, as proposed in its new recent multi-annual implementation project. Angus Scorgie, Head of Prudential and International Affairs at the federation said, “Given the huge amounts of data already provided to the IAIS in the preparation of the ICS and the expected implementation approaches, there does not appears to be sufficient justification for future data requests which will only add to already extensive reporting burdens faced by insurers.”
Insurance Europe highlights that the IAIS should decide the final elements of the ICS framework based on evidence from the quantitative approach it has committed to. It also notes its support for the existing European solvency regimes, Solvency II, Solvency UK and the Swiss Solvency Test without further changes, to be the implementation of the ICS in Europe. Angus Scorgie, added “The European solvency regimes are the global gold standard in risk-based prudential frameworks and as such should be considered as the implementation of the ICS at a European level , if and when the final ICS is agreed.”