About a-team Marketing Services
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry
The knowledge platform for the financial technology industry

A-Team Insight Blogs

European Insurers Struggle to Meet January 2016 Solvency II Compliance Deadline

Subscribe to our newsletter

As the January 1, 2016 deadline for Solvency II approaches, insurers across Europe are struggling to complete compliance programmes that have been held up by delays in one area causing knock-on effects in others and by slow regulatory approval of internal models for capital requirements that has left little time to work with asset managers and servicers that are also part of the compliance process.

Larger countries with the most advanced financial infrastructures are better prepared for Solvency II than their smaller neighbours, and Northern Europe is in a better position to meet the regulatory deadline than Southern Europe. There are country-by-country differences in terms of focus on the three pillars of the regulation, with insurers in Germany, for example, being confident that they have mastered the financial requirements of Pillar 1. In France, insurers have focussed on Pillar 3 requirements covering reporting and disclosure, and including the asset look-through element of the regulation that requires cooperation between insurers and their asset management partners.

Focussing on the look-through process, take up of the tripartite model developed by the Investment Association in the UK, Club Ampere in France and the BVI in Germany in an attempt to ensure common presentation of data that insurers need from asset managers has been chequered across Europe, with some large insurers making bilateral agreements with their asset managers.

Despite Solvency II’s design to ensure that insurers demonstrate and sustain solvency, asset managers have been proactive in tackling the regulation on behalf of their insurance clients and many recognise that the regulation, and the larger regulatory shift to which it belongs, will have an impact on their business models.

These and other findings are the result of a review of European readiness for Solvency II compliance published by Silverfinch, provider of a utility-type service for secure data sharing between insurers and asset managers, and entitled ‘The European Race to the Solvency II Finish Line’. John Dowdall, managing director of Silverfinch, says: “In spite of the deadline for Solvency II, the fact remains that there is much work to do. Across Europe, the majority of asset managers are aware of the benefits of helping their insurance clients with Solvency II, but how to respond to the regulation has clearly split the continent.”

With less than 100 days to go until the compliance deadline, the review concludes with some optimism, stating: “All is not lost, there is still time to achieve a satisfactory, albeit not perfect, introduction to Solvency II, however all of the stakeholders will need to up their game, and communication will be key.”

Subscribe to our newsletter

Related content

WEBINAR

Recorded Webinar: How to simplify and modernize data architecture to unleash data value and innovation

The data needs of financial institutions are growing at pace as new formats and greater volumes of information are integrated into their systems. With this has come greater complexity in managing and governing that data, amplifying pain points along data pipelines. In response, innovative new streamlined and flexible architectures have emerged that can absorb and...

BLOG

AI in Focus as Experts Meet in UK Capital for Data Management Summit London

Artificial intelligence has dominated the data management conversation in the past couple of years as organisations have recognised the technology’s potential to streamline operations, improve decision making and draw value from the data they use. A-Team Group has responded to the growing demand for intelligence on AI and has given the technology a keen focus...

EVENT

AI in Capital Markets Summit London

The AI in Capital Markets Summit will explore current and emerging trends in AI, the potential of Generative AI and LLMs and how AI can be applied for efficiencies and business value across a number of use cases, in the front and back office of financial institutions. The agenda will explore the risks and challenges of adopting AI and the foundational technologies and data management capabilities that underpin successful deployment.

GUIDE

AI in Capital Markets: Practical Insight for a Transforming Industry – Free Handbook

AI is no longer on the horizon – it’s embedded in the infrastructure of modern capital markets. But separating real impact from inflated promises requires a grounded, practical understanding. The AI in Capital Markets Handbook 2025 provides exactly that. Designed for data-driven professionals across the trade life-cycle, compliance, infrastructure, and strategy, this handbook goes beyond...