‘London leading the EU on meeting Solvency II’

Rob Stavrou, director of consultancy for Northdoor, was speaking as the Solvency II consultation period came to an end. He said the UK was well placed to adopt the European Union directive because, unlike other European countries, it had pushed through reform as the consultation progressed.

He said: “The end of the Solvency II consultation phase confirms the UK’s leading position in the Solvency II timeframe.

“Where the London market has pushed on and led the way with ensuring it meets the deadline, other countries have preferred to wait and see how the legislation progresses. As a result UK insurers are ahead of their European competitors.”

Mr Stavrou said yhe advantage of this in compliance is that it will be a soft start for London’s market participants.

He added: “Compliance is not as costly and complicated as initially thought. If you have got the right systems and processes in place you can make Solvency II implementation a relatively painless process.”

Solvency II will set out stronger EU-wide requirements on capital adequacy and risk management for insurers to increase protection for policyholders.

The strengthened regime aims to reduce the possibility of consumer loss or market disruption caused by firms going bust. It should also make it easier for firms to do business across the EU.

Roy McLoughlin, senior partner for London-based Master Adviser, said: “My concern is whether Solvency II will hurt or benefit consumers. It would be useful if insurers were more clear and coherent as to how these changes will affect price for the end consumer.”