Udo Kappes, chairman of the European Captive Insurance and Reinsurance Owners Association (ECIROA), believes players in the captive market are being heard by regulators and the wider insurance market.
Speaking at the opening of the European Captive Forum on Wednesday, Kappes said the expected 900 participants at the event “clearly shows that topics related to captives are on the rise”.
Commenting on the hoped-for Solvency II reforms that could lead to a greater level of proportionality applied to captives domiciled within the European Union, Kappes said this was a sign of greater understanding by insurance supervisors.
“After almost eight years of practical experience with Solvency II regulation and the specific challenges for captives, we can see that the strategic benefits of captives are increasingly understood by regulators,” Kappes said.
“After many years of joint efforts by various organizations, the EU Parliament is now proposing to further exempt captives in part from the oversized Solvency II rules and treat them as “low risk undertakings” by default. This means that captives should be exempt from certain regulatory burdens.”
Captive Intelligence understands the final text for the proposed reforms to Solvency II should be ready by the end of the month.
Kappes also recognised the development of a new captive regulatory environment in France and similar efforts at an early stage in the United Kingdom.
“All these developments show that the voices of the captive players have been heard and are being understood more and more,” he added.