Bottom of the class: Eiopa stress-test underperformers compared

Insurance Risk spoke to insurers and supervisors in four of the countries to fare badly in Eiopa's recent stress tests to explore how they are responding to the pressures that the tests reveal. Louie Woodall reports on the similarities and differences in approach, as well as some of the shortcomings of the tests themselves.

Tests are designed to separate the best from the rest and identify those falling behind. The principle is the same in the offices of the European insurance regulator as it is in the classroom: those who score poorly have to improve - or face a trip to the headmaster's office.

This was the attitude expressed by Gabriel Bernardino, chair of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) following the publication of its European-wide stress tests on November 30 2014. The results