Surviving the fallout

As regulators rush to reassess international banking regulations, insurers are also at threat of seeing more stringent regulations imposed on them on the basis that they are systemically risky. But the industry is fighting back. John Ferry reports

During the height of the credit boom everyone was blind to the systemic risks posed by individual banking groups. But as politicians and regulators rush to find new ways to cut the chances of a repeat of the banking crisis, the insurance industry is being pulled into the debate. Senior politicians and regulators in Europe and the US are calling for explicit recognition of the fact that large insurance companies pose systemic risk, and the consequences could be higher costs and regulatory burdens