The names SOLVENCY II, DORA, PRIIPS, IDD have been a constant companion over the past year. There were many regulatory changes, but do they make things easier for the market?
Changes in the Solvency II Directive were presented by the European Commission in September last year.
„They would result in a large operational burden for insurers. Therefore, constant tracking of what is happening in Brussels and making our postulates is crucial. Here and at each stage of work we have to explain to regulators how to change the law, we have to control many of the provisions. We will work on this key regulation for another two years.” – Iwona Szczęsna, head of the Polish Insurance Association office in Brussels, wrote on the changes in the Solvency II Directive, in the summary of insurance legislation at the European level.
Together with the review of Solvency II, the European Commission presented a new directive IRRD on resolution, copying the solutions from the banking sector. In addition, there was work on the digital agenda. In addition to digital operational resilience (DORA), cloud and ICT regulation, regulators are aiming to organize and facilitate access to data sets, make reporting scopes and methods more consistent, including eliminating the need to report the same data, using artificial intelligence or financial inclusion. Therefore, in 2022, the Polish Insurance Association will be analyzing new regulations in this area.
A big impediment to everyday work was and is the multi-layered nature of regulation. It also contributes to increased compliance risk. One can point to the work on regulations concerning the implementation of sustainable financing, which began in 2021, or changes in PRIIPs, which are to appear in the official journal of the EU in the near future and which will still be amended in the first half of the coming year.
„The year 2022 will not be a watershed year. The problem of over-regulation of the insurance industry is unlikely to be solved,” concluded Iwona Szczęsna.
