Post Europe Solvency II Survey - raise your glass

A very small sample (8 respondents) was taken to compile this survey from Post Europe magazine, but I gleaned much from it.

You may need to fill out a form for this survey, but I thoroughly recommend it - there are so many unattributed gossipy quotes I felt like I was reading TMZ!

Being focused on UK and Ireland, it was hilarious to see what the Mainland Europe guys had to say (as you will see in these bullets;

• Real expectation of regulatory arbitrage opportunities, to the extent that at least one respondent advocated fines at national supervisor level for non-alignment!
• General fears of regulatory staff shortage (proven at UK level)
• Fluidity of ORSA requirement still a concern (rightly so)
• Shoft from driving for Sol II benefits to basic compliance
• Shift to risk based capital allocation is already improving "simplistic" approaches to underwriting
• Northern European countries thought to be in the vanguard (Dutch, German and UK authorities), ahead of the "laissez faire attitude of the wine drinkers of the south"! [I must add that, with a viticulteur for a father in law, I can buy in to this one!]
• Level playing field not expected for some time - one particular exception highlighted was small French mutuals who provide single line cover, where the suggestion was that an exemption may be sought

Whilst mediterraneaan readers may be hurt by the wine drinker sleight, they at least have the comfort of the better temperatures - my northern European friends and I can keep shivering while we laugh...