Solvency II
Model misgivings
The insurance-based nature of Danish pension provision means almost the entire sector will fall under the remit of Solvency II. And despite the Danish industry’s groundbreaking work in stochastically modelling its assets, the potential extension of this…
An unhealthy interest
The rise of impaired annuity providers at the start of the decade prompted a migration of the least healthy annuitants away from traditional providers, skewing their mortality assumptions and capital reserves. But as mainstream annuity providers use an…
The finishing line is in sight for the Solvency II directive says Ceiops chair, but issues remain
An interview with Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of Ceiops
Solvency II & risk management conference
Life & Pensions’ fourth annual Solvency II conference brought together a large number of leading industry figures at a critical point in the directive’s evolution
Open for hedges
India’s insurance sector has long been hamstrung by its inability to use equity derivatives. This is about to change with the country’s insurance regulator set to relax the rules on derivatives. But are India’s insurers ready for synthetic instruments?…
Institutional memory
Ninety-year-old TIAA-Cref is one of the US’s oldest providers of retirement services and came into the financial crisis with experience of past crises galore. But did history help it when the crunch bit, and how will its business model learn from this…
Conservative concerns
The first stage of the Solvency II directive was characterised by a period of political horse trading that resulted in the exclusion of group support and the inclusion of the equity duration principle, to the general consternation of the European…
US academic hits out at Obama proposal for systemic risk regulation
The Obama administration’s proposal to give the Federal Reserve regulatory authority over insurers designated as systemically significant – known as Tier 1 financial holding companies (FHCs) – would increase instability in the insurance market, according…
Remuneration controls in Solvency II ‘unjustified’
Proposals to include measures relating to remuneration policy as part of the Solvency II directive have been slammed by Spanish mutual insurer Groupama, which described the initiative as “unjustified interference in company management”.
US state regulators make move toward principle-based regulation
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the group representing industry regulators within the United States and its territories, has adopted principle-based reserve requirements for life insurance products, replacing its previous…
European industry condemns Ceiops’ risk-free rate proposals
The decision by the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (Ceiops) to opt for only triple A-rated government bond rates to be allowed to discount insurers’ technical provisions in Solvency II has received widespread…