Insurance Europe ‘disappointed’ by EC progress on cutting reporting burden
Expertise is often directed away from risk management to meet reporting requirements
Insurance Europe has criticised the European Commission for falling short on commitments to reduce the reporting burden on European companies by 25%.
The federation of insurance associations said it is “disappointed” by the EC’s Work Programme for 2024, having previously pledged to cut reporting by a quarter.
“While the European Commission’s 2024 Work Programme aims to reduce ‘the burden for businesses and rationalising reporting requirements’, in reality nothing had been proposed that would materially ensure the 25% target was met for insurers,” Insurance Europe said.
It has told the EC that “excessive reporting” and regulatory requirements for insurers “negatively impacts customers” through higher costs.
It further warned: “It redirects often scarce expertise away from key activities such as risk management or innovation to reporting on them, and puts the European insurance industry at a competitive disadvantage internationally.”
Insurance Europe named Solvency II, sustainability requirements and business conduct as areas where reporting could be reduced or stripped back.
It also called on the EC to ensure all future regulatory initiatives are guided by principles to:
- Avoid unnecessary new reporting requirements.
- Avoid duplications.
- Embed proportionality.
- Avoid over prescriptiveness.
- Respond quickly to the industry’s requests for clarity.
