Spanish risk and insurance managers warned about rising red tape

In a keynote speech at the closing session of the XXI Congreso Español de Gerencia de Riesgos y Seguros, the annual congress of Asociación Española de Gerencia de Riesgos y Seguros, Ms. Del Valle pointed out that it is not just European rules that insurers must look out for. In addition to Solvency II and other European directives, Spanish legislators are looking into a number of regulatory changes that will have an impact on the activity of insurance companies. These changes include a new law for insurance contracts and adjustments to accounting rules for insurers, that will move closer to international standards, she explained. "It has also been mooted at European level that there will be changes to the rules for the distribution of insurance products to adapt it to Solvency II," Ms. Del Valle said. "Therefore, in the next five years, the pillars over which the insurance sector is supported are set to change, and the regulation for the 21st century will be put in place."hideFor that reason, Ms. Del Valle has urged those companies that have not begun to adapt themselves to Solvency II to begin working at it right away. She also pressed UNESPA's argument that Solvency II needs to be implemented with rules that boost competition within the European Union and outside the bloc too. Ms. Del Valle demanded that the application of the rules must be ‘binding’ for all supervisory authorities in the European Union, in order to prevent some jurisdictions ‘playing’ the system in an effort to attract companies tot their territories. "If that doesn't happen, some supervisors could be more permissive than others," she warned. Ms. Del Valle also urged legislators not to play too heavy a hand when finalising the new solvency rules. "The insurance sector emerged very well from the financial crisis," she said. "Not simply fairly well, but very well indeed. European regulators should bear in mind that we don't need capital requirements that are much higher than today's levels. It is important to remember that Solvency II, at its origins, aimed to make the European insurance companies more attractive to investors, so we can compete with companies from America and Japan and the other Asian countries," she continued. The regulatory changes that will affect the work of risk managers in the near future was the main theme of the 21st edition of AGERS' annual congress, which took place on May 26 and 27 in Madrid. Issues such as the risk of civil liability created by the operations of Spanish companies in America were discussed during the event presided over by Ignacio Martínez de Baroja, AGERS' Chairman, who was elected to the position last year. It was the first congress organised by the association since a group of risk managers from large Spanish companies, including several former AGERS officials, broke away in 2009 to set up their own association, which was named Iniciativa Gerentes de Riesgo Asociados, IGREA. During the sessions, representatives from the insurance industry complained about what they see as an already excessive level of meddling by the Spanish authorities in the sector. Paulo Wesolowski, a senior partner at law office Davies Arnold Cooper in Madrid, stressed that Dirección General de Seguros y Fondos de Pensiones, DGSFP, the industry's regulator, has been acting in an increasingly uncompromising manner. He told the story of a Spanish insurer which was told by the DGSFP that the company had responsibility for the risk management not only of its own operations, but also of those of its brokers and bancassurance distributors too. Such a mentality is prone to generate ‘spectacular’ levels of red tape, Mr. Wesolowski said. Joaquin Valenzuela, the Head of Legal and Compliance Advice at Allianz in Spain, warned that Spanish companies will have to adapt to higher compliance requirements as a result of the new regulatory wave. In some cases, he said, companies, especially those with international operations, will have to behave in ways that are more accepted in other cultures, as excuses for 'social mores' won't cut anymore. "Spanish companies should move towards a concept of corruption that is similar to that of Anglo-Saxon countries," he mentioned as an example. Mr. Valenzuela also told the risk managers in the audience that they should be prepared to deal with an expanding volume of compliance-related issues.

Spanish risk and insurance managers warned about rising red tape

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Insurtech partners with USAID on climate adaptation programme

ICEYE in data collaboration with Juniper Re on flood and wildfire

Senior appointments in Lockton’s crisis management team

European rates up overall but financial and cyber lines falling: Marsh

European Parliament approves regulation to tackle forced labour

Insurtech partners with USAID on climate adaptation programme

ICEYE in data collaboration with Juniper Re on flood and wildfire

Senior appointments in Lockton’s crisis management team

European rates up overall but financial and cyber lines falling: Marsh

European Parliament approves regulation to tackle forced labour

Want to read this article?

Read Next

Insurtech partners with USAID on climate adaptation programme

ICEYE in data collaboration with Juniper Re on flood and wildfire

Senior appointments in Lockton’s crisis management team

European rates up overall but financial and cyber lines falling: Marsh

European Parliament approves regulation to tackle forced labour

Related Articles