The Capital Ratio Podcast | Entering the US Banking Market
The Standard Formula Podcast | Assessing Prudential Solvency Regimes in the Middle East
The Standard Formula Podcast | Unpacking the IAIS’ Adoption of the Insurance Capital Standard
The Standard Formula Podcast | Insurers in Difficulty: Staying Compliant Under Solvency II
The Standard Formula Podcast | Group Supervision Under Solvency II
The Standard Formula Podcast | Developments on the Horizon for the UK Change-in-Control Regulatory Regime
[WEBINAR] Update: Social Media Meets the First Amendment
[WEBINAR] Do You Know the Way [After] San Jose?
[WEBINAR] Public Records Act - Taming the Email Tiger
The Prudential Regulation Authority ("PRA") has issued a letter, dated 4 July 2025, to Chief Risk Officers of life insurers active in the bulk purchase annuity ("BPA") market. The letter focusses on the use of so-called...more
INTRODUCTION - The recent “Solvency UK” reforms to Solvency II represent the UK’s tailored approach to insurance prudential regulation post-Brexit, aiming to enhance flexibility and competitiveness in the insurance...more
This chapter discusses prudential insurance regulation in Japan. Japan is the fourth-largest insurance market in the world, with a broad customer base and a varied range of offerings. This profile, coupled with ongoing...more
On 9 January 2025, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published its annual Dear CEO Letter setting out its priorities for the supervision of (re)insurers in 2025. Similar to last year, financial and operational...more
On November 15, 2024, the PRA issued a consultation paper (CP 15/24) proposing changes to the regulatory framework for UK insurance special purpose vehicles. Insurance special purpose vehicles (or ISPVs) are intended to...more
On 13 December 2024, the FCA and the PRA published linked Consultation Papers on operational incident and third-party reporting (FCA CP24/28 and PRA CP17/24). The consultations aim to create a structured framework for...more
The SFCR and Other Public Reporting - Introduction - The Solvency II regime, as legislated in the Solvency II Directive and elaborated upon in Chapter XII of the EU Commission Level 2 Delegated Regulation (2015/35), is...more
1. The Supervision Regime - Proportionality - The supervision regime is built on the principle of “proportionality,” in an effort to ensure that supervision remains effective and meets its underlying purposes without...more
1. Bank regulation - 1.1 PRUDENTIAL REGULATION - a) General (i) EU - ESRB: Speech on old and new frontiers of the ESRB: Systemic risk, non-banks and data analysis - Status: Final - The ESRB has published a...more
Undertakings in difficulty, in the context of Solvency II, refers to insurers that are either failing or likely to fail to meet their solvency capital requirement (SCR) or their minimum capital requirement (MCR) (together,...more
The PRA published Policy Statement 13/24 (PS13/24) on 26 July 2024 providing feedback on the PRA’s Consultation Paper 24/23 (CP24/23) on Funded Reinsurance (FundedRe). PS13/24 is published alongside the PRA’s final policy in...more
This chapter discusses the valuation of assets and liabilities under Solvency II. Given that strategic asset allocation and investment management are key aspects of an insurer’s business, especially for life insurers, this is...more
“The Standard Formula’s” Rob Chaplin once again gives listeners a look at how to address some of the intricacies of Solvency II. In this episode, he is joined by Feargal Ryan for a discussion on how insurers should navigate...more
Solvency II is organised around three core pillars of prudential regulation, which ensure the safety and soundness of (re)insurers, in line with the scale, nature and complexity of their business: - Pillar One focuses on...more
The PRA has released an important statement on its approach to funded reinsurance. Our view is that the statement endorses the conceptual principle that funded reinsurance (particularly to offshore counterparties) should best...more
There are two main methods of calculating the solvency capital requirement (SCR) under Solvency II, the “standard formula” and “internal model” methods: (a) The standard formula method, as its name suggests, is the default...more
PS10/24, implementing reforms to the UK’s Solvency II regime for matching adjustment portfolios, came into force on June 30, 2024. The reforms aim to increase investment flexibility and provide a wider range of options for...more
The Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) is designed to protect policyholders by helping ensure that insurers can survive difficult periods and pay claims as they fall due. It prescribes a specific level of capital that an...more
This chapter discusses and analyses the investment rules that apply to Solvency II insurers and reinsurers in the United Kingdom. In particular, this chapter will outline the “prudent person principle” and discuss the...more
1. Background to the Matching Adjustment - “Where insurance and reinsurance undertakings hold bonds or other assets with similar cash flow characteristics to maturity, they are not exposed to the risk of changing spreads...more
As discussed in our previous updates, in June 2020 the UK government announced a wide-ranging review of the Solvency II framework in the UK, aimed at reforming the insurance regulatory framework inherited from the EU given...more
Group supervision regulates the impact that members of a Solvency II group may have on a UK Solvency II insurer. The rules governing Solvency II groups are contained in the PRA Rulebook (Group Supervision), the Solvency 2...more
In our fourth installment of “The Standard Formula” Back to Basics series, host Robert Chaplin is joined by Feargal Ryan for a detailed discussion on group supervision under Solvency II. Topics covered include circumstances...more
(Re)insurance is a global business. It is common for (re)insurance groups to operate in a range of jurisdictions via: i. locally incorporated and authorised subsidiaries, ii. local branches of third country...more
On 11 January 2024, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published its annual Dear CEO letter setting out its priorities for the supervision of (re)insurers in 2024. Similar to last year, financial and operational...more