EU-US Insurance Regulatory Dialogue Project invites public comment

The Steering Committee of the EU-US Dialogue Project invites public comment
on the draft factual Report based on the results of the Project's seven
technical committees.

The objective of the Project, which builds on more than a decade of EU-US
regulatory dialogue, is to deepen insight into the overall design,
function and objectives of the key aspects of the insurance supervisory
regimes in the European Union and the United States, and to identify
important characteristics of both regimes.

The Report addresses the following seven areas and identifies key
commonalities and differences of the two regimes:
Professional secrecy and confidentiality; Group supervision; Solvency and
capital requirements; Reinsurance and collateral requirements; Supervisory
reporting, data collection and analysis and disclosure; Supervisory peer
reviews; Independent third party reviews and supervisory on-site
inspections;

All interested parties can contribute to the consultation process by
participating in the two public hearings that will take place at 14.00 hrs
EDT on 12 October 2012 in Washington DC at the Grand Hyatt and at 10.00
hrs CET on 16 October 2012 in Brussels at the Centre de Conférences
Albert Borschette.

Requests to provide oral statements during the public hearings should be
sent by 10 October 2012 to the following email addresses:
tom.finnell{at}treasury.gov (Link: tom.finnell@treasury.gov )
(Washington Hearing) and Manuela.Zweimueller{at}eiopa.europa.eu
(Link: Manuela.Zweimueller@eiopa.europa.eu ) (Brussels
Hearing).

Registration to attend the hearings – whether or not there is an intent
to provide an oral statement - has to be carried out via the respective
email account and webpage:

Washington Hearing:
useuprojecthearingdc{at}naic.org (Link:
useuprojecthearingdc@naic.org )

Brussels Hearing (Please note that the registration will start as of the
next week only):
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/solvency/latest/index_en.htm
(Link:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/insurance/solvency/latest/index_en.htm )

Written submissions by all interested parties are also welcome and can be
sent to the email address: EUUSProjectReport{at}eiopa.europa.eu
(Link: EUUSProjectReport@eiopa.europa.eu ) before 23.55 hrs
CET on 28 October 2012.

The EU-US Dialogue Project started in early 2012, when the European
Commission (EC), EIOPA, the US National Association of Insurance
Commissioners (NAIC) and the Federal Insurance Office of the US Department
of the Treasury (FIO) agreed to participate in a deeper dialogue project
(Project) to contribute to an increased mutual understanding and enhanced
cooperation between the EU and the U.S. to promote business opportunity,
consumer protection and effective supervision.

Seven Technical Committees (TC) of the Project were established in order to
address the above outlined specific topics. Each TC comprises experienced
professionals from both the European Union and the United States,
specifically, from FIO, the EC, the NAIC and EIOPA, as well as
representatives from state insurance regulatory agencies in the US and
competent authorities of EU Member States.

The Steering Committee of the Project was established in order to take all
key decisions on the direction of the Project and to provide clarity to
the technical committees. The Steering Committee consists of six members,
comprised of three US and three EU officials: Michael McRaith, Director of
FIO; Kevin McCarty, President of the NAIC; Terri Vaughan, CEO of the NAIC;
Karel Van Hulle, EC Head of Unit, Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA;
and Ed Forshaw, Manager Prudential Policy Division of the FSA and Chair of
EIOPA's Equivalence Committee.

More information on the two public hearings is available on EIOPA website
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/consultations/public-hearings/forthcoming/20121016/index.html
).


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EIOPA publishes the database of registered financial institutions

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
published now a database of registered financial institutions. At this
stage, the database contains information on insurance undertakings; other
registered financial institutions will be added in due course.

The EIOPA database is compiled from information received from the EEA
national competent authorities and offers a comprehensive overview of the
European insurance sector.

The publication of this database is one of the tasks assigned to EIOPA by
Article 8 of EIOPA's Regulation, according to which EIOPA should provide
to the public easily accessible information on registered financial
institutions.

The database is accessible under the following link on EIOPA website:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/register-of-insurance-undertakings/index.html
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/publications/register-of-insurance-undertakings/index.html
)

*EIOPA is aware that there are differences between the information
published herein and the lists available in the national public
registries.


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EIOPA publishes Report on the Role of Insurance Guarantee Schemes in the Winding-Up Procedures of Insolvent Undertakings

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has
published its Report on the Role of Insurance Guarantee Schemes in the
Winding-Up Procedures of Insolvent Undertakings in the EU/EEA today.

The aim of the report is to summarize the results of a survey on the role
of IGSs in the winding-up procedures of insolvent undertakings across the
EU/EEA in which 24 members participated.

Findings from this report highlight the lack of harmonization in areas such
as:


- Which authority takes a decision to intervene in case an insurance
undertaking becomes insolvent;
- The ability to provide for portfolio transfer;
- A lack of pre-warning systems when an insurance undertaking experiences
difficulties;
- The role of the supervisory authority when an insurance undertaking
becomes insolvent.

The findings also highlight that policyholders can be at risk of
inconsistent treatment across Member States and little or no insurance
cover due to the lack of a harmonized approach to IGSs across the EU/EEA.

The text of this report can be viewed on the EIOPA website
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/files/publications/reports/Report_on_the_Role_of_Insurance_Guarantee_Schemes_in_the_Winding-Up_Procedures_of_Insolvent_Undertakings_in_the_EU-EEA.pdf
).


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The Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG) of EIOPA publishes its feedback on the EC White Paper "An Agenda for

The Occupational Pensions Stakeholder Group (OPSG) of EIOPA published its
Feedback Statement on the European Commission White Paper "An Agenda for
Adequate, Safe and Sustainable Pensions" that looks at how the EU and
the Member States can work to tackle the major challenges that confront
our pension systems.

In its Statement the OPSG commented on the European Commission's analysis
and initiatives and provided recommendations on such issues as structure
of pension systems, development of pillar 2 pensions, reporting on pension
systems by Member States, flexibility of the pension systems and the need
for mobility, information to members related to the three pillar pensions,
protection of pensions and good practices. OPSG recommended that
regulation of pensions be balanced between citizen's rights and economic
needs underlining efficiency as a critical factor for the development of
adequate, safe and sustainable and regulation to and flexibility of the
pension schemes etc.

The Feedback Statement is part of the OPSG's own initiative work. It was
prepared by a specially formed sub-group led by Mr. Klaus STRUWE
(beneficiaries group) who had to align and balance different opinions
expressed during the preparation process.

On 17 July 2012 Chris VERHAEGEN, Chair of the OPSG, sent the Feedback
Statement to EIOPA Chairman, to the European Commission and to the
European Parliament.

The text of the Feedback Statement can be viewed under the following link
on EIOPA website (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/fileadmin/tx_dam/files/Stakeholder_groups/opinions-feedback/EIOPA-OPSG-12-06_Feedback_Statement_on_EC_White_Paper_on_Pensions.pdf
).


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EIOPA announces its 2012 Conference: 21 November 2012, Frankfurt am Main

Dear Sir or Madam,

EIOPA has the pleasure to announce its 2nd Annual Conference, which will be
held on 21 November 2012 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany).

EIOPA would be honored to share with the participants the crucial results
of the Authority's work in 2012 and the challenges that lay ahead of the
insurance and occupational pensions sectors in the years to come.

This year's programme will include key note speech by Dr Thomas Steffen
(State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany) and three
stimulating panel sessions will provide comprehensive overviews of the
following topics:

- Pensions – What shall we change so that nothing changes?
- Insurance Regulation - The Way Ahead
- Financial Stability – Are insurers actors or victims?

EIOPA is confident that its annual conferences represent a perfect
opportunity for the interactive dialogue between industry, consumers,
academics and supervisory authorities of the European Community. Invited
speakers and representatives will provide participants with a wealth of
expertise and in-depth analysis. We look forward to inspiring discussions
and networking in the dynamic setting of the 15th EURO FINANCE WEEK.
Please find the conference programme on our website (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/conferences-events/eiopa-conference/eiopa-conference-2012/index.html
).

In the meantime, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact us on EIOPAConference{at}eiopa.europa.eu (Link:
EIOPAConference@eiopa.europa.eu ).

Yours sincerely,
Kerstin Maier



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EIOPA publishes the outcome of the Public Consultation on the ORSA

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
published today its Final Report on draft Guidelines for Own Risk and
Solvency Assessment (ORSA).

The report underlines the purposes of the ORSA and provides additional
details on how the ORSA is to be interpreted. Undertakings are expected to
have the necessary competence and expertise to find fit-for-purpose
solutions for the practical implementation of the ORSA.

EIOPA points out that one key feature of the ORSA is proportionality.
Insurers should develop their own ORSA processes that are tailored to fit
into their organisational structure and risk management system with
appropriate and adequate techniques to assess the company's overall
solvency needs.

The undertaking's administrative, management and supervisory body (AMSB)
needs to play an active role in the ORSA, particularly by steering on how
the assessment is to be performed and by challenging its results.

Undertakings should express the overall solvency needs in quantitative and
qualitative terms and complement the quantification by a qualitative
description of the risks. Insurers will be required to submit to the NSAs
a forward-looking assessment of their overall solvency needs indicating
multi-year tendencies and developments.

Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, said: "With this report EIOPA
highlights its expectations in relation to the implementation of the ORSA
by insurance undertakings. The ORSA should allow insurers to have a
complete and holistic risk understanding and should connect business
strategy and capital planning. The ORSA is a top-down process owned by the
undertaking's Board. In this sense it should be an essential tool to
help boards in their core responsibility not to take on more risks than
the capital base allows for. The financial system needs a cultural change
and I believe that the ORSA will become a key element of such a change in
the insurance sector".

EIOPA strongly encourages the industry to use the current report in their
early implementation of the ORSA.

The text of EIOPA Final Report on Public Consultation No. 11/008 on the
proposal for Guidelines on Own Risk and Solvency Assessment can be viewed
online. (Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/consultations/consultation-papers/2011-closed-consultations/november-2011/solvency-ii-consultation-paper-on-the-proposal-for-guidelines-on-own-risk-and-solvency-assessment/index.html
)


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EIOPA PUBLISHES THE OUTCOME OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON SOLVENCY II REPORTING AND DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR INSURERS

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
published today its final report on reporting and disclosure requirements
for insurance undertakings and insurance groups.

The report states the level of granularity of the information that
supervisory authorities will need to receive. It reflects a balanced
approach towards costs and benefits, and contributes to an efficient
risk-based Supervisory Review Process and, therefore, to a higher
protection of policyholders. The reporting requirements are also expected
to contribute to financial stability and to allow the assessment and
monitoring of market developments.

EIOPA underlines that the ongoing discussions related to the Omnibus II
Directive (OMD II) and the future Implementing Measures are expected to
lead to changes in the reporting requirements. The design or structure of
the templates may also be affected by the development of the respective
IT reporting standards.

But, despite possible changes, EIOPA strongly believes that the industry
should use this package already now in order to start the implementation
phase.

Gabriel Bernardino, Chairman of EIOPA, said: "The publication of this
report is crucial because insurance undertakings and supervisors need to
start as early as possible with the implementation of reporting and
disclosure requirements. The proposed reporting templates are the result
of a long effort by EIOPA and have benefited from contributions from the
different stakeholders. This set of harmonized reporting templates
represents a major step towards the consistency of supervisory practices
in the EU".

EIOPA expects that the full package on reporting and disclosure with all
the changes incorporated will be available later in 2012.

All the relevant documentation can be accessed on the EIOPA website
(Link:
https://eiopa.europa.eu/consultations/consultation-papers/2011-closed-consultations/november-2011/draft-proposal-on-quantitative-reporting-templates-and-draft-proposal-for-guidelines-on-narrative-public-disclosure-supervisory-reporting-predefined-events-and-processes-for-reporting-disclosure/index.html
).


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