Insurers face “death by 1,000 spreadsheets” under Solvency II

Overly prudent capital requirements and excessive red tape in the Solvency II directive will paralyse the European insurance industry and kill the mutual business model, according to the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives of Europe (Amice).

Gregor Pozniak, secretary general at Amice, said that the current standard formula calibration, together with the governance and reporting requirements in the directive would lead to the failure of small and medium size insurers and their takeover by larger competitors.

"Some have asked whether the reporting has got excessively complex, and the answer is yes. This is a huge fear for our members, who will face a kind of death by 1,000 spreadsheets.

"Solvency II is not supposed to drive market