Frank Achtert, Managing Director, Financial Intelligence Team, and Sebastien Portmann, Vice President, Financial Intelligence Team
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On April 15th, 2010, the European Commission (EC) published its draft technical specifications for the next Quantitative Impact Study (QIS) 5, which will be implemented from August to November of 2010. Based on empirical evidence, the general calibration of the standard formula solvency capital requirement (SCR) may fall between the calibration of QIS 4 and the calibration seen in the rigid proposals of the various consultation papers (CP) submitted during 2009. This article takes a deeper look at the calibration of non-life underwriting risk as part of the overall SCR calculation.

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, Financial Intelligence Team, and Maximilian Strasser, Vice President
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In 2009, the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) issued details of its Level 2 implementation measures for Solvency II in three waves of consultation papers. The capital charge for the catastrophe risk sub-module (NLCAT), a key driver of capital for non-life carriers and reinsurers, is covered in various publications, primarily in “CEIOPS’ advice for Level 2 Implementation Measures on Solvency II: SCR standard formula - Article 111 Non-Life Underwriting Risk (former CP 48)” and Consultation Paper (CP) 71 - “SCR Standard Formula - Calibration of non-life underwriting risk”. It should be noted that the proposals made in CP71 are subject to a consultation process resulting in recommendations to the European Commission in spring 2010 and therefore, may not be final. Notably these rules have been not covered by CEIOPS’ final advice to the European Commission (EC) published at the end of January 2010.  

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, Financial Intelligence Team, and Maximilian Strasser, Vice President
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In 2009, the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) issued details of its Level 2 implementation measures for Solvency II in three waves of consultation papers. The capital charge for the catastrophe risk sub-module (NLCAT), a key driver of capital for non-life carriers and reinsurers, is covered in various publications, primarily in “CEIOPS’ advice for Level 2 Implementation Measures on Solvency II: SCR standard formula - Article 111 Non-Life Underwriting Risk (former CP 48)” and Consultation Paper (CP) 71 - “SCR Standard Formula - Calibration of non-life underwriting risk”. It should be noted that the proposals made in CP71 are subject to a consultation process resulting in recommendations to the European Commission in spring 2010 and therefore, may not be final. Notably these rules have been not covered by CEIOPS’ final advice to the European Commission (EC) published at the end of January 2010.

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, Financial Intelligence Team
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The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) published its final and third set of advice to the European Commission (EC) at the end of January. The advice notably excluded final advice on non-life underwriting risk.

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, and Eddy Vanbeneden, Managing Director
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Group support will not be permitted when Solvency II becomes effective in 2012. As a result, the flexibility to use capital held anywhere in the group in calculating the Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) will not be available. Rather, each entity will have to calculate its SCR based on the capital it has, regardless of its group’s position as a whole. This last-minute change to eliminate group support could prompt some European insurance groups to change their structures - or at least rethink how much risk they will take in each entity.

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Financial Intelligence Team
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The link between a company’s earnings and its share price is intuitive and well documented. Equally logical, although far less studied, is the correlation between the volatility of earnings and share price. The favorable impact of stable earnings on market valuation is intuitive considering market capitalization represents a view of future discounted cash flows and unexpected earnings volatility reduces the predictability of those cash flows.

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Financial Intelligence Team
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In April 2009, Guy Carpenter’s Financial Intelligence Team published a briefing entitled Risk Profile, Appetite and Tolerance: Fundamental Concepts in Risk Management and Reinsurance Effectiveness. That briefing included definitions of Risk Profile, Appetite and Tolerance and how these concepts fit into an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework. It also presented the results of our initial Risk Tolerance Benchmarking study, which summarized the information publicly disclosed in this area.

Download the briefing as a PDF >>

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, Financial Intelligence Team
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The Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS) published its second set of Consultation Papers on Level 2 implementation measures for the Solvency II Directive in July 2009. These papers were open for comment until September 11, 2009. CEIOPS received more than 20,000 comments from 105 stakeholders, demonstrating the importance (and explosiveness) of the ongoing Solvency II discussion.

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Frank Achtert, Managing Director, and Eddy Vanbeneden, Managing Director
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Lately, discussion about the use of capital models in Europe has been driven by Solvency II. A major regulation is on the horizon and is progressively introducing considerable change in the how the insurance industry will manage risk. Important investment has already begun and will continue, as companies have to integrate this new regulatory regime in their management approaches. With Solvency II compliance driving the adoption of economic capital models, though, many (re)insurers could miss an opportunity to secure a competitive advantage. Instead of using compliance as the impetus for capital modeling, strategy should come first.

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Financial Intelligence Team
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CP31 sets out the principles an entity must adhere to in order to allow the recognition of financial mitigation techniques (e.g., financial derivatives) for Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR) purposes. It states the capital requirement should allow for an appropriate reduction to reflect the mitigation techniques in place while avoiding allowing deductions based on inappropriate mitigation techniques.

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