International Association of Insurance Supervisors
Supervision of climate-related risks - IAIS publishes application paper - 25 May 2021
The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published an application paper on the supervision of climate-related risks in the insurance sector. The paper aims to support supervisors in their work to integrate climate risk considerations into the supervision of the insurance sector, and sets out recommendations and examples of good practice which are consistent with the IAIS Insurance Core Principles (ICPs). Among other things, the recommendations cover:
- the role of supervisors: supervisors should assess the relevance of climate-related risks to their supervisory objectives and should collect quantitative and qualitative information on the insurance sector’s exposure to, and management of, physical transition and liability risks of climate change;
- corporate governance and risk management: when addressing climate-related risks it is expected that insurers integrate these risks into their overall corporate governance framework. For example, the control functions (including the risk management and actuarial functions) should properly consider climate-related risks and have appropriate resources and expertise to manage them;
- investment policy: insurers should assess the impact of physical and transition risks on their investment portfolio; and
- disclosures: material risks associated with climate change should be disclosed by insurers in line with ICP 20 (Public Disclosure). Supervisors may use the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework when designing best practices or as input for setting their own supervisory objectives.
Application Paper on the Supervision of Climate-related Risks in the Insurance Sector
Resolution of Public Consultation Comments on Draft Application Paper on the Supervision of Climate-related Risks in the Insurance Sector
Webpage
Press release
Webinar
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority
New chairperson of EIOPA - Council of the EU adopts decision - 27 May 2021
The Council of the EU has announced that it has adopted a decision to appoint Petra Hielkema as the new chairperson of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). The Council adopted this decision based on the shortlist of candidates drawn up by EIOPA’s board of supervisors and following confirmation by the European Parliament.
Ms Hielkema will take up her new role on 1 September 2021 for a period of five years, renewable once. She is currently Director for Insurance Supervision at De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch national central bank).
Press release: Petra Hielkema appointed chair of EIOPA
Pensions Dashboard Programme
New statutory pension dashboard requirements - Pensions Dashboard Programme publishes call for input - 27 May 2021
The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has published a call for input on its proposals for the staging timetable under which pension schemes and providers will be obliged to meet the new statutory requirements concerning pensions dashboards enacted in the Pension Schemes Act 2021.
The PDP recommends that staging should happen in three waves, starting with schemes with 1,000 or more members, before moving onto schemes with fewer members over two more waves. The key wave will be the first, which the PDP estimates will cover 99% of memberships overall. It recommends that this wave should run for up to two years and be divided into three cohorts:
- Cohort one: authorised master trusts and FCA-regulated providers of personal pensions (starting spring 2023);
- Cohort two: defined contribution schemes used for automatic enrolment, ordered largest to smallest (during 2023); and
- Cohort three: all remaining occupational schemes with over 1,000 members (largest to smallest), with the largest defined benefit schemes staging during 2023.
Among other things, the call for input also suggests that early staging of pension providers into the dashboard ecosystem on a voluntary basis would be helpful, particularly for enabling extensive user testing before dashboards become available for public use. The PDP notes that dashboards will not be launched to the public at the point that the staging process starts.
Recognising that the final staging timetable will be set out in Department for Work and Pensions regulations and FCA rules, the PDP indicates that respondents’ feedback to its recommendations will nonetheless inform policy development. The call for input closes on 9 July 2021.
Call for input: Staging
Webpage
Information for data providers
Press release: Pensions Dashboards Programme provides opportunity to influence the order and timings of staged connection to dashboards
Money & Pensions Service press release
