Insurance Insights - June 2022

EIOPA has published a final report containing technical advice to the EC on certain issues relating to retail investor protection. It has published the Annexes separately. The report responds to the European Commission’s (EC) request for advice of July 2021 and EIOPA's subsequent consultation in January 2022. EIOPA has published a resolution table on its own responses to the feedback received to the consultation. The report has been submitted to the EC. EIOPA's advice will feed into the EC's development of a Retail Investment Strategy.

EIOPA has published the following two final reports:

• Final report on the public consultation on the revision of the guidelines on contract boundaries. EIOPA has introduced new guidelines and amended its current guidelines on the determination of contract boundaries, relating to the assessment of whether a cover or financial guarantee has a discernible effect on the economics of the contract and the identification of the contracts that can be unbundled.
• Final report on the public consultation on the revision of the guidelines on the valuation of technical provisions. EIOPA has introduced new guidelines and amended its current guidelines on the valuation of best estimate (including the use of future management actions and expert judgment), the modelling of expenses and the valuation of options and guarantees by economic scenarios generators and modelling of policyholder behaviour.

EIOPA has published a consultation paper on draft guidelines on the integration of the customer's sustainability preferences in the suitability assessment under the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD). A Commission Delegated Regulation will introduce changes, as of 2 August 2022, in the way customers' sustainability preferences are considered in the suitability assessment by insurers and insurance intermediaries providing advice on insurance-based investment products (IBIPs). EIOPA expects to publish the final guidelines in July 2022, in time for the Delegated Regulation's application date of 2 August 2022.

EIOPA has published a keynote speech by Petra Hielkema at the FAROS Frühjahrsforum regarding ‘’Investing for the future in a low-yield and high-uncertainty environment’’. 

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published their Newsletter, dated April 2022. The newsletter outlines items it is focused on including passing the mid-point of the Insurance Capital Standard monitoring period, as well as various news, events, and other updates.

A corrigendum to the text of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2268 amending the regulatory technical standards (RTS) laid down in the packaged retail and insurance-based investment product Key Information Document (PRIIPs KID) Delegated Regulation (i.e. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/653) was published in the Official Journal (OJ) of the European Union. Delegated Regulation was originally published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 20 December 2021 and entered into force on 9 January 2022. It currently provides that it will apply from 1 July 2022 (except Article 1, point 13, which has applied since 1 January 2022), but this is likely to change to 1 January 2023. 

Insurance Europe (IE) has published an updated set of key messages regarding the European Commission’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) initiative, in view of the ongoing trialogue discussions between the Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on their respective proposals for the CSRD.

The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) has launched a new strategy to improve outcomes for consumers and in markets throughout the UK. The regulator will, for the first time, hold itself accountable against published outcomes and performance metrics. A key focus of the strategy is shutting down problem firms, which do not meet basic regulatory standards. The FCA is recruiting 80 employees to work on the initiative, which will protect consumers from potential fraud, poor treatment and create a better market.

The PRA launched the Solvency II reporting cost survey with the aim of gathering historical operational cost information from firms on their compliance with the existing framework, to assist with the PRA’s analysis of the costs and benefits associated with future reporting and disclosure policy proposals. Firms were asked to respond by Friday 27 May 2022. 

The PRA published a Consultation Paper that sets out proposals for the PRA’s fees for 2022/23. The proposals would make amendments to the Fees Part of the PRA Rulebook. The PRA proposes to publish the changes resulting from this Consultation Paper on Monday 4 July 2022 and proposes that the implementation date for the changes resulting from this CP would be Wednesday 6 July 2022. This consultation closed on Friday 20 May 2022. 

The PRA published a Business Plan which sets out the PRA’s strategy, workplan and budget for 2022/23. It includes the following key points: 

• In April 2022, HM Treasury will consult on a package of reforms to insurance regulation. 
• The PRA will launch the next insurance stress test in May 2022, covering the largest general and life insurers. 
• The PRA will continue its scrutiny of internal models used by insurers to quantify and manage their risks, recognising the limitations and costs of these models. 
• Regarding operational resilience, a focus of engagement during 2022 will be to assess whether firms had implemented the policy expectations by the time they came into force on 31 March 2022. 
• On climate change, from 2022 the PRA’s approach to climate-related financial risk will switch from assessing implementation, to actively supervising against the threats.

The FCA published its final policy decision for proposals set out in CP 21/24 ‘Diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive committees’. These measures will improve transparency on the diversity of company boards and their executive management for investors and other market participants. 

The PRA has updated its webpage on passporting. The update states that passporting rights will continue for firms operating between the UK and Gibraltar. Statutory Instrument (SI) 2019/589 established transitional arrangements for Gibraltar that will preserve the status quo of deemed-passporting for Gibraltarian firms after the end of the transition period. 

HM Treasury has published a consultation on Solvency II reform in the UK. The consultation provides further details on the proposals announced earlier this year by John Glen MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury. 

The PRA published a statement that provides an update from the PRA, coinciding with the consultation published by HM Treasury on the Solvency II Review (see above). The PRA supports the objectives of the Review and continues to work closely with HM Treasury on the potential reforms. This statement and the accompanying Discussion Paper (see below) set out the PRA’s current views on some key aspects of the potential reform package. 

The PRA published a Discussion Paper which sets out the PRA’s current views on some key aspects of the HM Treasury proposed reform package (see above). The PRA is of the view that decisions on changes to the risk margin need to be taken together with decisions on the Fundamental Spread (FS) when assessing the overall impact of reforms on its statutory objectives. 

Last year, the PRA launched the Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) as a data collection exercise to assist its analysis of potential Solvency II reform options. During Q1 2022, the PRA continued to engage with the insurance industry through a series of roundtable events on the Fundamental Spread (FS), risk margin, internal model framework, and Transitional Measure on Technical Provisions (TMTP). 

Please see below for EIOPA’s response to recent questions, as summarised by our colleagues in KPMG UK. EIOPA has responded to queries where uncertainties exist in the Solvency II requirements. The Solvency II requirements may change or become more prescriptive over time.

EIOPA clarified in Q&A (#2203) that the data on related Collective Investment Undertakings are to be included in the consolidated data on the basis of the proportional share held according to Article 335(1)f of the Delegated Regulation 2015/35, if method 1 applies. 

EIOPA clarified in Q&A (#2379) that as it is the first year of application of the Volatility Adjustment, year N-1 values should be reported without VA and year N values should include VA for all S.29.XX templates. The use of VA will have an impact on the technical provisions and, therefore, in the reconciliation reserve. 

EIOPA confirms in Q&A (#2311) that as soon as a dividend is foreseeable, the full amount of dividend must be included in the quarterly reporting at one time, which means that it shall not be added incrementally from quarter to quarter. 

EIOPA clarified in Q&A (#2326) how QRT S.22.05 should be presented. 

Every month KPMG's IFRS team produces an update on the progress of the industry to date on the implementation of the new insurance accounting standard.

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