The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) held its first meeting on 10 January 2010 and promptly elected its management board and selected Gabriel Bernardino as its first Chairperson. See our previous blog on the new European supervisory bodies here.

The new body, successor to the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS), quickly got work by announcing the launch of the second Europe-wide stress test for the insurance sector. EIOPA states that “the goal of the stress test is to identify and quantify the impact of the different stress scenarios on an insurer’s financial position in an adverse and very severe economic environment.”

The test will be one of a range of supervisory tools used by EIOPA and will include a minimum of 50% of insurance companies per Member State measured by gross premium income. EIOPA is expected to consult with national supervisors and insurance associations before finalising the framework of the test.

Click here for the EIOPA press releases relating to its launch and the stress test.