23 November 2006

Speech McCreevy: Shaping the Future Supervisory Framework for Insurance

On the occasion of the CEA Conference on Solvency II in Brussels Commissioner McCreevy underlined his intention to table the framework directive on Solvency II in July next year and commented on supervisory issues, the treatment of small and medium-sized insurers, QIS 2 and the international scene.

“Regulation should recognise the economic relevance of an insurance group by accepting a lead supervisor”, the Commissioner said. “We need to overcome our fears and engage in creative thinking about a more appropriate division of tasks between the lead supervisor and the solo supervisors.”

With regard to smaller insurers McCreevy underlined his sympathy to CEIOPS' recommendation that “all insurance undertakings which are exempted from the current Solvency I regime should be exempted from Solvency II as well.”

With regard to the results of the QIS 2, which are due to be published by CEIOPS in December, McCreevy disagreed with some persons view that QIS 2 shows that the Commission would no longer want the insurance industry to invest in risk capital. “Such a conclusion is of course entirely wrong”, he said. “Not only was the Commission not in charge of QIS 2 but QIS 2 was merely a test which included a certain treatment of equity investments which may well have been too strict.”

“I do not want to see an insurance market that is entirely dominated by large players”, he said and continued that “we need to insure that small and medium-sized insurers can continue to offer their products and flourish. I will be looking very carefully at the results of QIS 3 in this respect.”

With regard to the international scene he underlined that “we must avoid the emergence of important differences between the solvency regime developed internationally and Solvency II.”

“On accounting, it is still unclear when the IASB will ultimately deliver its Phase 2 project on insurance contracts. We cannot wait forever. We must go forward with Solvency II and try to avoid to the extent possible divergences between the solvency and the accounting frameworks.”

Full speech

© European Commission