OPINION by Alban de Mailly Nesle, AXA Group CFO and Chairman, European CFO Forum
Insurers provide protection to millions of citizens and businesses, support economic activity and invest in the transition towards a more sustainable future. As CFOs, ensuring the financial strength and long-term resilience of our companies is at the core of our responsibility. To continue doing this effectively, we need a regulatory environment that supports Europe’s global competitiveness and supports growth.
Keeping European insurance globally competitive
European insurers play a unique role as long-term institutional investors with long-term liabilities and highly diversified investment portfolios. In times of financial instability, insurers act as a stabilising force. That is not by chance – it is built into the way our business operates.
However, our ability to compete globally and serve society efficiently is increasingly constrained by the weight of regulatory complexity and unnecessary reporting burdens. The European Commission’s commitment to reduce administrative burdens and simplify reporting requirements by 25% is a very welcome signal. But this ambition must now be turned into effective and meaningful change for all insurers – both large and small. Insurers should play a key part in those discussions.
A competitive sector held back by complexity
The EU has created a dense and intricate framework of regulation. In 2012, our industry had to comply with 12 key directives. Today, that number has grown to over 70. Much of this is well intentioned and focused on legitimate goals (transparency, financial stability, sustainability, consumer protection). But over time, the layers have become too many, too detailed, and too fragmented.
We are subject to new rules that are often developed in silos and without fully considering their cumulative impact. The result is a patchwork of overlapping or duplicative obligations that divert resources away from core business activity and limit our capacity to innovate or compete, weakening Europe’s economic strength and attractiveness as a global financial centre.
This is especially true in areas such as sustainability and financial reporting, where the interaction between IFRS, CSRD, SFDR, the EU Taxonomy and Solvency II creates operational inefficiencies and confusion for users of the data. That is not only inside our insurance firms, but also among investors, regulators and the public.
On top of this, gold-plating at national level makes things even worse. The same European rule can look very different from one country to another. It creates uncertainty, discourages cross-border business and makes Europe less attractive as a destination for capital.
“Reducing excessive, outdated or overlapping requirements is not about removing safeguards, but about reducing unnecessary friction.”
A smart, proportionate approach to regulation
The European Insurance CFO Forum fully supports the core objectives of EU regulation. Trust, transparency and financial soundness are vital for our industry and for society. But to maintain this trust and remain globally competitive, regulation must also be practical, proportionate and coherent.
Europe’s ability to compete depends on revisiting the complexity of the current regulations. Reducing excessive, outdated or overlapping requirements is not about removing safeguards, but about reducing unnecessary friction. Regulations can be simplified and, indeed in some cases, removed. The focus should be on the outcome: a stronger, more competitive and more resilient financial sector.
Simplification and burden reduction must be part of the EU’s competitiveness agenda. What we ask is to simplify what already exists, remove duplication and ensure that any future rules come with a clear and justified cost-benefit case. Insurers are looking for regulation that supports good outcomes and avoids tying up scarce resources and holding back progress.
That is why the CFO Forum has responded positively to the Commission’s simplification agenda. But we also stress that this must go beyond political declarations. We need actual revisions of existing requirements, based on open dialogue with industry and a shared understanding of what works in practice.
Our proposals for meaningful simplification
To help deliver this goal, the CFO Forum has developed concrete proposals in four priority areas where we see immediate opportunities for improvement:
In each of these areas, we are ready to engage with policymakers to help shape frameworks that work in practice and contribute to a stronger and more competitive European economy.
What’s next?
The CFO Forum will continue to contribute constructively to the EU’s regulatory agenda. Our sector is proud to play a long-term role in Europe’s economy in providing protection, promoting resilience, and investing in a better future. But we can only continue doing so if the rules that govern us are clear, proportionate and coherent.