KPMG has called on insurers to scrutinise draft Solvency II guidelines published by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority yesterday as they are broader in scope than the first technical standards released.
Peter Ott, European head of Solvency II at KPMG, said: "As the first wave of implementing technical standards related solely to various approval processes, insurers could be forgiven for assuming that the first wave of guidelines would cover similar material," he said.
"However, the list shows that these papers are far more wide-reaching and will be relevant to all insurers who must read this material carefully to understand the full impact on their business", he added.
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority yesterday issued its first wave of guidelines for Solvency II, together with an impact study.
The consultation papers relate to large elements of pillars 1 and 2 and include guidelines in: use of internal models; system of governance and own risks and solvency assessment; supervisory review process; and methodology for equivalence assessments.
Although the delegated acts are not yet publicly available, Eiopa have published a separate annex, of over 100 pages, including the relevant draft articles to which the guidelines relate.
The response deadline for the consultation is 29 August.
Janine Hawes, insurance director at KPMG, commented: "The five papers include over 500 individual guidelines that the national competent authorities will need to make their best efforts to adopt, if they are not materially changed post consultation. This will follow the usual comply or explain route.
"The material has relevance to all firms that will need to comply with Solvency II. As well as the guidelines themselves, the papers include extensive explanations to help firms understand the requirements. These papers make public for the first time much of the material that was subject to private pre-consultation, giving the same insight now to all firms," she added.
