|
|
The Stress Test 2016 focuses on two major market risks:
The exercise focuses on long-term business performed by solo undertakings (no insurance groups). In order to include a higher number of small and medium size insurers, the participation target was increased from a 50% in 2014 to a 75% share of each national market in terms of gross life technical provisions.
To limit the burden on the insurance industry European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) makes use of this exercise to collect at the same time information on the Solvency II equity and Long Term Guarantees (LTG) measures.
The deadline for submission of results to the national competent authorities (NCAs) will be 15 July 2016. The EU-wide results of the stress test will be disclosed in December 2016 in an anonymized and/or aggregated way.
Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, said: "The current challenging macroeconomic environment has to be acknowledged in such a stress test exercise. Therefore, EIOPA decided to conduct severe stress scenarios. I am confident that the results of the simulation of such shocks will provide us a "high-resolution" picture of the European insurance sector and its most critical vulnerabilities. We need to see the issues requiring particular supervisory attention and response to the potential built-up of systemic risks at the European level. Hence this exercise will not focus on who is not meeting the capital requirements after the shocks but on the financial stability implications of those scenarios".