Strasbourg, 05/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament adopted, in first reading, the two reports by Harald Ettle (ESP, Austria) on the Directives settling the solvency margins, which life and non-life insurance companies must have. He only added technical and editorial details to the text presented by the Commission, while limiting the possibilities for the automatic granting of solvency certificates by the Member States, which allow insurance companies to "export their problems". Thus the EP adds in the text of the two Directives that, when the rights of the insured are threatened, the competent authorities must abstain from certifying that the insurance company has a sufficient solvency margin. The two texts are part of the priority measures from the Action Plan for financial services, which aims to harmonise the European financial services markets by 2005, according to the targets set during the Lisbon Summit in March 2000. Let us recall that the solvency margin is the additional reserve that the insurers are held to keep to tackle unforeseen events such as a higher level of claims than foreseen. The Internal Market Council reached an agreement on this text in June (see EUROPE of 5 and 6 June, p.13).
- - - - - -