Archive

• SII reporting delays: thanks but no thanks

  01 April 2020

  As European regulators offer some leeway on Solvency II regulatory reporting deadlines, insurers seem inclined to follow the original schedule. Begging the question of how to account for the COVID-19 impact. David Walker reports

• Adopting Tunaru's ERM valuation approach "difficult but not impossible"

  14 May 2019

  More work and significant modification needed, says Milliman

• Private debt blues

  19 July 2017

  Private debt seems the perfect fit for insurance investors with its long-term horizon, better-than-average returns and graspable risk for those used to dealing with fixed income. Yet the regulatory stance on the asset has not been overly clear so far. Sarfraz Thind reports

• Volatility expected on gilt-swap spreads as election result sees push and pull factors

  09 June 2017

  Gilts a short-term safe haven for UK investors but less so for foreign investors with aversion to UK political risk, says Nomura

• Can covered bonds stage a comeback?

  29 June 2016

  Covered bonds have traditionally been a favourite asset for insurers and are treated sympathetically under Solvency II, but they have fallen from grace as low yields bite into the asset class. Sarfraz Thind reports on prospects for a revival

• European insurers eye sticky private credit market

  15 June 2016

  European Insurers have been building up their investment in the private credit market these past three years. Although there is room for growth in this asset class, there are currently some serious caveats which need to be borne in mind. Sarfraz Thind reports

• Solvency II equity dampener hits the floor

  10 March 2016

  Back to level recorded at the height of the Eurozone crisis

• Infrastructure charges still too high, industry says

  01 October 2015

  Insurance Europe says barriers to investment remain

• German insurers are big winners from infra charges cut

  14 July 2015

  German firms are likely to benefit most from Eiopa's tentative proposals to reduce the Solvency II capital charges on infrastructure investment, which fell short of the hopes of the industry overall. The changes in the standard formula calibrations may also have implications for users of internal models, as Hugo Coelho reports

• The challenge of hedging under the volatility adjustment

  29 April 2015

  The multiple factors used to calculate the Solvency II risk-free rate when using the volatility adjustment (VA) render it almost impossible to hedge perfectly while maintaining capital efficiency, but that in turn creates an opportunity for value-added asset-liability management, says Paul Fulcher