On 7 July 2008, the Comité Européen des Assurances (CEA) published a response to the European Commission’s consultation paper on Insurance Guarantee Schemes (IGS) (see our previous blog here).
The CEA states in its response that it believes that the most important protection for insurance consumers is an effective, efficient system of prudential regulation for insurers. It does, however, recognise that neither the current nor future solvency regime create a zero-failure environment and that it is therefore appropriate to consider the need for additional protection mechanisms.
The CEA considers that it would be difficult to create a European-wide legislative solution to harmonise IGSs in all Member States because of the diversity of national insurance markets. If the Commission were to decide that there is a need for EC harmonisation on IGSs then it should be preceded by an economic impact assessment, with a view to providing Member States with sufficient flexibility to adapt solutions to their market and to provide for a sufficient transitional period.
The consultation period ended on 7 July 2008 and the responses can be found here. They will by taken into account by the Commission when making its policy decision on the way forward on the IGS issue.
The Commission will publish a feedback document on the responses received to the public consultation in due course and we will report any further developments here on the blog. The CEA’s full response can be viewed here.
