Solvency II Introduction Needs Transition Period, Ceiops Says

A new risk-based regulatory framework for European insurers should be introduced with a transition period, the regulator developing the rules said.

“We should allow a period for the market and supervisors to adopt,” Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pension Supervisors, or Ceiops, said at a conference in Paris today. “We shouldn’t postpone the introduction of Solvency II, but rather phase in the implementation.”

Frankfurt-based Ceiops is developing Solvency II together with local supervisors in Europe. The rules, scheduled for introduction in 2013, have been tested by the industry in a fifth quantitative impact study, named QIS5. Ceiops plans to publish the results of the study in March, secretary general Carlos Montalvo said in an interview on Oct. 22.

To contact the reporter on this story: Oliver Suess in Munich at osuess@bloomberg.net

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