IPE: Nearly half of European insurers unready for Solvency II

22 October 2012

According to a study by Ernst & Young, just under half of European insurers (43 per cent) would be ready for the Solvency II regulatory framework by January 2014, but nearly 90 per cent would be prepared by 2015.

Between 70 per cent and 90 per cent of British, Dutch, Greek, Polish and Spanish insurers expect to be ready to comply before 1 January 2014, whereas 60-70 per cent of Belgian, French, German and Italian insurers will not be ready until after 1 January 2014.

However, while almost 90 per cent of respondents are on track to meet the 1 January 2015 deadline proposed by the European Commission, 34 per cent of German, 17 per cent of Italian and 13 per cent of Spanish insurers do not think they will be ready to comply until after 1 January 2015.

Insurers in Britain, France and the Netherlands are relatively well prepared in comparison to others, but even in those markets, 60-70 per cent of insurers have yet to meet most of the requirements for Pillar 3.

Jan Leiding, partner in financial services at Ernst & Young, said: "Making the data landscape work requires firms to integrate multiple complex IT systems and is a massive challenge. The survey shows that progress in implementing appropriate ownership, governance and controls is particularly slow. The shifting EIOPA deadlines have offered excuses, but these will be viewed as fundamental failings and now require prompt attention."

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