Solvency II: A guide to the legal process and next steps | Practical Law

Solvency II: A guide to the legal process and next steps | Practical Law

Last November's announcement that Omnibus II Directive negotiations had, at last, come to an end means that insurers and reinsurers must now focus on what they need to do before 1 January 2016 to prepare for the Solvency II Directive (2009/138/EC). Relatively little of the new regime has been fully finalised to date. Because of this, firms will have to absorb vast amounts of material that EU and UK authorities are expected to generate over the next two years.

Solvency II: A guide to the legal process and next steps

Practical Law UK Articles 3-560-7426 (Approx. 15 pages)

Solvency II: A guide to the legal process and next steps

by Geoffrey Maddock and Barnaby Hinnigan, Partners, and Alison Matthews, Consultant, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Law stated as at 04 Apr 2014 • European Union, United Kingdom
Last November's announcement that Omnibus II Directive negotiations had, at last, come to an end means that insurers and reinsurers must now focus on what they need to do before 1 January 2016 to prepare for the Solvency II Directive (2009/138/EC). Relatively little of the new regime has been fully finalised to date. Because of this, firms will have to absorb vast amounts of material that EU and UK authorities are expected to generate over the next two years.
The length of time that it has taken to get this far has made it difficult to follow where we are in the Solvency II legal process. Because negotiations have straddled changes to the European regulatory structure, the picture is even more confusing that it might have been.
This article looks at legal aspects of the Solvency II regime and their implications for firms. It considers:
  • The legal framework of Solvency II.
  • How near each element of the framework is to completion and what needs to happen next.
  • How Omnibus II has changed the previously published regime.
  • The transitional relief that firms can expect to get from 1 January 2016.
  • How Solvency II will be applied to insurers and reinsurers in the UK.