i-law.com - Newsletter (Insurance Regulation & Accounting)

FSA Enforcement: publicity and reputational risk

The Enforcement Division of the FSA has had 18 months to get to grips with its new powers, but action has been rather slow off the mark, says Graham O’Connell of law firm DLA. Most cases have settled at an early stage, usually resulting in..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Race against time

The proposals for the sale of general insurance will impact not only the regulation of a wide range of firms, but could also produce significant change in the general insurance market. Senior management need to explore the business impact and..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Clearing the mist

The future of insurance regulation is starting to take shape but there are still pieces of the jigsaw that will take a bit longer to fit together to complete the picture. IR&A heard a range of views in London recently at an IBC conference on..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

The road to ruin

The collapse of HIH in Australia lost investors thousands and added to the already tarnished image of the industry following the breakdown of the Australian reinsurance market in the 1990s. The result, a 1,500 page report, is all that remains to..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Lloyd’s case set for debate

European Parliament to detate UK government’s supervision of Lloyd’s The report into the role of the UK government in regulating the Lloyd’s market is due to go before the full European Parliament after it met with the approval..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

FSA clarifies solvency procedures

Timings have not proved kind and the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) is having to rush through changes to implement the Solvency I directives in time rather than present them to the market as part of wider alterations. The Solvency I..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Alien reinsurer review halted

London lobby will continue despite NAIC setback to change collateralization rule Alien reinsurers face an uphill struggle to secure reduced collateral requirements in the US after Mike Pickens, president of the National Association of Insurance..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Insurers opt out of UK regime

Onerous costs and the pressures of keeping up with supervision have prompted a growing number of UK companies to up sticks and replant in the offshore insurance market of Gibraltar. The trend is most prevalent among Lloyd’s motor insurers, for..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

US must consolidate regulation at federal level

The current alien reinsurer requirements are “inefficient” said Lloyd’s chief executive Nick Prettejohn during a debate on the role of government and only serve to raise the costs of cover to buyers. Mr Prettejohn used the stand to..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

FSA steps up call for transparency

The reinsurance industry will face increasing market challenges but it must step up efforts to improve transparency, said John Tiner, managing director of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) insurance, investment and consumer division,..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Will Irish eyes be smiling on new regulator?

Ireland is the latest financial centre to consolidate its regulators into one. In keeping with the international pace of change, says James Grennan of A&L Goodbody, Ireland hopes the new system will minimise the systemic risk of failure in any..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

The cost of compliance

Brokers are facing up to fundamental change but will they be able to foot the bill to stay in business? The FSA has gone some way in pinning down registration fees, but annual charges and the cost of compensation schemes are still largely unknown. ..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

European round-up

Various recent developments in the European Union (EU) will be of interest to readers. The European Council of Ministers has adopted the commission’s directive on Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provisions (IORPs). Member states will..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Study reveals deterioration in free assets

The top 20 with-profit life insurance companies in the UK kept on top of regulatory solvency requirements last year, despite being shaken by a further year of falling equity values. But free asset ratios, which measure the amount of assets above..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Netherlands breaches EC motor directive

The Netherlands has been added to the European Commission’s (EC) growing list of countries that have failed to implement regulations under the Fourth Motor Insurance Directive. In April, the EC referred the cases of France, Luxembourg, Italy,..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Report: Insurers must look outside regulatory risk

German non-life insurers need to adopt risk-adjusted valuation models when deploying their capital rather than concentrating purely on regulatory solvency, according to a new report by financial services consulting firm Oliver, Wyman & Co. It..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Insurers face tougher EU environmental bill

Heavy lobbying by the insurance industry and commerce in general has failed to force a rethink on the wisdom of making compulsory insurance a cornerstone of a new strict liability regime for environmental damage in the European Union (EU). The..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003

Controversy delays new corporate code

The introduction of new corporate governance laws have been set back in order to address the level of criticism facing the report completed by Derek Higgs. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which instructed the review of corporate governance..

Online Published Date: 01 June 2003

Appeared in issue: 2 - 01 June 2003