Brussels, 05/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 June, the European Commission adopted a first round of decisions confirming the equivalence of the rules in seven non-EU countries (Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Switzerland) with the EU's Solvency II Directive on insurance.
The European Commission's decisions are based on a report by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), which finds the Swiss insurance regulatory regime to be fully equivalent to Solvency II (calculating an insurance company's solvency under Article 227 of the Solvency II Directive, group supervision under Article 260 and re-insurance under Article 172). Equivalence is granted for Switzerland for an indefinite period.
For the six other countries, the equivalence decision only covers the solvency calculation and is granted for a period of ten years. Provisional equivalence is granted for non-EU countries which may not meet all the criteria for full equivalence but where an equivalent solvency regime is expected to be adopted and applied by that country in the foreseeable future, explains the Commission.
The European Parliament and Council of Ministers now have three months to endorse or reject the decisions en masse. If they are formally adopted, insurers registered in the EU will be able to use EU rules when accounting for their business outside the EU, and insurers in the non-EU countries in question will be able to provide their services in the EU without having to explicitly comply with the Solvency II Directive that comes into force in January 2016.
“The decisions taken today will lead to more choice and competition for European consumers and also enable European insurers to compete more effectively in overseas markets,” explained Financial Services Commissioner Jonathan Hill in a press release. (Mathieu Bion)