(Adds more detail)
By Huw Jones and Iain Withers
LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Britain is considering a "quick
win" reform of capital rules for insurers after the Brexit
transition period ends, a senior Bank of England official said
on Wednesday.
The rules were inherited from the bloc and Brexit gives
Britain a free hand to amend them, with lawmakers saying changes
are needed to keep insurers competitive.
BoE regulators will look to rejig so-called Solvency II
regulations in Britain as quickly as it can, Victoria Saporta,
executive director of prudential policy at the BoE, told the
Reuters Events Future of Insurance Europe conference.
The central bank has a long list of items for potential
reform, she said.
"If we see that there are certain quick wins, and there
could well be some quick wins in regulatory reporting for
instance, then we might be able to deliver them," Saporta said.
Areas of focus include tweaking risk margins, regulatory
reporting and rules around Libor, Saporta said, adding that
regulators would need to work with the Treasury and Parliament,
meaning some changes will take longer due to the need for
changes in the law.
"And also, we really really do need to look at the evidence
and provide a sort of very careful assessment."
The risk margin refers to the potential cost for a failing
insurer to transfer its policies to a third party and doesn't
cover actual expected claims.
Julian Adams, head of public policy and regulation at
insurer M&G, said the Treasury has identified the right
areas to reform Solvency II.
"There are definitely good grounds to re-examine the
construction of the risk margin," Adams said, adding that the
review should also consider how insurers can help more with
"green" investments.
The EU is also reviewing Solvency II and Dimitris Zafeiris,
head of financial stability at the European Insurance and
Occupational Pensions Authority, said at the conference that
reform would be "evolution rather than revolution".
"Overall, the insurance solvency framework works," Zafeiris
said.
Felix Hufeld, President of German regulator BaFin, said some
of the "key pillars of Solvency II do deserve a brush-up",
especially to make it more "proportional" for smaller insurers.
(Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan)
Aviva (AV.)