Is QIS5 a measurement of success/failure?
This comment piece looks at the fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS5) results for Solvency II
Download full comment piece in PDF format »
Background
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has released the results of the fifth Quantitative Impact Study (QIS5) for Solvency II. The study was designed to obtain detailed information on the quantitative impact of theSolvency II proposals ; insurers‟ and reinsurers‟ solvency balance sheets and the preparedness of the industry and supervisors. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) stated that “the study was a significant exercise in the development of policy for Solvency II” and strongly encouraged firms to take part in QIS5. The FSA expressed that they were pleased with the scale of participation and the high level of engagement this demonstrates with Solvency II.
Comment by George Crooks - FRSGlobal
Finally the results of QIS5 have been published and interestingly there has been a 78% increase in the uptake of participation compared to QIS4. This may be due to panic in the industry as 1st January 2013 draws closer or benevolence on the part of the insurers who wish to see EIOPA succeed in their quest for information gathering.
EIOPA can congratulate themselves as the 2,520 participants - 68% of the members that fall under the Solvency II umbrella - actually accounted for 85% of the total premiums. This means that the regulator has high volume, quality data to base their findings upon. EIOPA also saw double the numbers of small insurers who took part in the test compared to QIS4 which gave a broader spectrum of data to assess in order to achieve a better understanding of the market as a whole. For EIOPA and the industry, QIS5 was designed as a test to gather information in various formats in accordance with the Solvency II framework directive. It was also a catalyst for the industry and supervisors to prepare them for what‟s to come under the Solvency II level 2 implementation measures.
Download full comment piece in PDF format »
