A comparatively quiet year for natural catastrophes after the record losses of 2017 and 2018, 2019 brought its fair share of manmade headline-grabbing events – from industry newcomers, the Argo vs Voce saga, battling brokers and the rise of the insurtech ‘unicorn’ to political agendas playing out on both sides of the Atlantic…
Brexit
Britain and the EU have signed a long-delayed post-Brexit cooperation pact for financial services, though the agreement stops short of granting the City of London bloc-wide market access.
Zurich Insurance Group has unveiled plans to shift its European Economic Area holding company, Zurich Insurance plc (ZIP), to Germany from Ireland following Britain’s departure from the EU.
Lloyd’s has completed the transfer of business from its Italian branch to Lloyd’s Insurance Company (LIC), the Corporation’s Brussels-based European subsidiary.
The UK’s proposed overhaul to EU capital rules could free £90bn ($108bn) of capital for investment but insurers should not see the reforms as a “free lunch”, the Bank of England’s deputy governor Sam Woods warned on Friday.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Downing Street officials are reportedly growing increasingly impatient with the UK’s financial regulators over the pace of post-Brexit capital reforms for the insurance sector.
The UK will deliver its much-anticipated reforms to the EU’s capital rules “at pace”, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak promised an elite gathering of insurance executives yesterday.
UK insurers’ solvency will remain “robust” under the UK government’s proposed post-Brexit overhaul to the EU’s Solvency II capital rules, according to Moody’s.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has said capital adequacy rules under the Solvency II regime could be better tailored to make the UK (re)insurance sector more competitive.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are reportedly preparing to make a joint statement in June on the UK government’s planned post-Brexit overhaul to the EU’s Solvency II insurance regulations.
The UK government has published its long-anticipated consultation on sweeping reforms to the EU’s Solvency II directive, an overhaul policymakers say will free up tens of billions of pounds of British (re)insurers’ funds and boost competitiveness.
The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee inquiry into the regulation of the London market will continue tomorrow with evidence from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reiterated the regulator’s stance that EU capital rules governing the insurance sector are not well suited for the UK, arguing reform could allow much-needed capital to be redeployed and boost the UK economy.
The Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has said its review of how the EU’s Solvency II regulations are implemented in the UK could help to “remove barriers” and enable the (re)insurance sector to better deliver on its sustainable investment commitments.
Almost half of UK SMEs have seen pandemic-specific exclusions added to their policies and reported challenges in securing adequate cover in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to research from broker Marsh.
