Cross-border insurance groups : towards a comprehensive supervision under solvency II

Abstract

This paper explores the Solvency II standards for EU supervision of insurance groups operating across borders as detailed by the guidelines issued by EIOPA. The EU legislator has preferred to reinforce the tool of the colleges of supervisors, which are multilateral platforms where national supervisors involved in the supervision of a single insurance group cooperate, instead of opting for a single EU supervisor. The paper analyses cooperation between supervisory authorities in the context of the colleges in order to clarify the fields covered by the colleges as well as those that are not. In this respect, the paper argues for including in the mandate of the colleges the task of defining and implementing a common principle of group interest to administer the governance system of cross-border insurance groups, and to extend the supervision of colleges to the distribution of insurance products.