Financial Services Regulation and Compliance - Insurance September 2023

Domestic

CBI publishes the Insurance Quarterly Newsletter

On 25 September 2023, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) published the latest issue of its Insurance Quarterly Newsletter for Q3, 2023. The newsletter addresses several important topics. These include:

  • CBI commentary on the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) Supervisory Statement regarding governance arrangements in third countries (including comments on substance, control, resourcing and risk management).
  • Updates on the CBI’s work in respect of data ethics within the insurance sector (including the CBI’s Data Ethics Within Insurance Project and its subsequent report).  

CBI publishes its Insurance Corporation Statistics – Q2 2023

The CBI released its Insurance Corporation Statistics for Q2 2023 on 1 September 2023. Key points to note include:

  • an increase of 3.2% in the total assets of the Irish insurance corporation (IC) sector was recorded, bringing the total value to €418bn (up 8% on Q4 2022)
  • technical reserve (TRs) increased in Q2 2023, with growth of 6.3% in non-life insurance and 3.9% in non-unit linked life insurance
  • while non-unit linked life insurance TRs are down 16.6% and unit-linked life insurance TRs are down 5.4% from 2021 year end, non-life insurance TRs have grown 29.2% over the same period

European

EIOPA survey on cyber insurance access by SMEs

On 20 September 2023, EIOPA launched a survey on access to cyber insurance by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of the survey is to provide EIOPA with a greater understanding of the challenges small businesses face in protecting themselves from cyber risks and to evaluate the level of access to cyber coverage. SMEs are invited to take part until 20 March 2024 and the survey can be accessed here.

EIOPA contributes to the bi-annual EUROFI Views Magazine

EIOPA has contributed several articles to the bi-annual EUROFI Views Magazine published on 13 September 2023. The articles cover a broad range of topics, including:

  • generative AI’s impact on insurers (see here)
  • impact and challenges of sustainability risks for the insurance sector (see here)
  • insurtech and increasing automation in the insurance sector (see here)
  • addressing climate-related insurance protection gaps (see here)
  • consumer related risks associated with increased innovation in insurance products (see here)

EIOPA insurance statistics for Q1 2023

On 4 September 2023, EIOPA published statistics for Q1 2023 on (re)insurance undertakings and groups active in the EEA, providing interesting insights into asset allocation across Europe. Key takeaways include:

  • (re)insurers held €8.57tn in assets across different asset types and jurisdictions
  • France is the leading jurisdiction for (re)insurers investing in government bonds, investment funds, corporate bonds and narrowly trails Germany in equity investments
  • Luxembourg is one of the leading jurisdictions for investment fund assets held by EEA (re)insurers
  • EEA (re)insurers allocate more than 25% of their assets to investments in equity and equity funds 

EIOPA appoints new members to Management Board

Two appointments to EIOPA’s Management Board were announced by the Board of Supervisors of EIOPA on 26 September 2023. The two appointees are Domhnall Cullinan, the Director of Insurance at the CBI, and Margarida Corrêa de Aguiar, the President of the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority.

EIOPA publishes monthly technical information

EIOPA published its monthly technical information on 5 September 2023 regarding the relevant risk-free interest rate term structures with reference to the end of August 2023, for Solvency II purposes. This technical information is used for the calculation of technical provisions for (re)insurance obligations. On the same date, EIOPA also published technical information on the symmetric adjustment of the equity capital charge under Solvency II with reference to the end of August 2023.

For more information on these topics please contact any member of A&L Goodbody's Insurance & Reinsurance team.

Date published: 25 October 2023