Q&A: EC insurance chief on challenge of global capital rules

Solvency II might be modified to accommodate international capital rules, says Nathalie Berger, European Commission head of insurance and pensions. But agreeing on a global rulebook to enhance or supersede Solvency II looks far from easy

Europe's Solvency II is still to come into force yet global rules are already on the horizon in the form of the insurance capital standard (ICS). The work of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) in framing those rules could put Nathalie Berger, head of the insurance and pensions unit at the European Commission (EC), in the position of Solvency II's defender. 

Berger says she will fend off any international standards that threaten to replace the European directive, but