Europe’s insurance sector became the latest to join the chorus of EU interest groups calling on the next Commission to foster a more pro-business regulatory framework – first and foremost, by following through with its pledge to slash reporting obligations by 25%.
Insurance Europe, the umbrella group for insurance and re-insurance firms across the bloc, published its manifesto for the next five years on Thursday (11 July), listing its top priorities for “a more prosperous, resilient, and competitive European Union”.
One of the core recommendations for policymakers is to shift to “a new approach to EU regulation that allows, not stifles, innovation, global competitiveness and digitalisation”.
This would include broadening the pool of private investors across the bloc by increasing “retail investment, including through insurance savings and retirement products, and diversify[ing] funding sources for EU businesses,” and also by making it easier for insurers to invest in them.
The most relevant positive changes, though, should come from the Commission “deliver[ing] on its commitment to reduce the reporting burden” for firms by one quarter, the group said – something a plethora of other business groups, as well as national politicians, have been calling for.
“There were 12 legislative texts at EU level impacting insurers in 2012, and there will soon be about 70,” the group said, adding that “the complexity and level of detail has also increased dramatically”.
“Regulation on sustainability reporting, digital issues, solvency requirements, conduct of business, due diligence and much more, all tend to be more onerous and expensive than those applied to international competitors,” the association warned.
Reporting demands lead to higher costs “not only for business but also indirectly for consumers”, it argued, and “reduce the ability to innovate and grow”, ultimately damaging “Europe’s global competitiveness”.
For the Commission’s pledge “to result in any material benefit, there must be a serious commitment to real changes,” it said.
The insurance sector, the group said, “is captured in a multitude of sector-specific regulations. For this reason, regulation should not be produced in a ‘silo’ that does not take account existing laws in all areas affected by it”.
Notably, the group also called for setting up a new “insurance expertise centre” in the European Commission, “serving as an insurance knowledge hub across Directorate-Generals”.
This hub would ensure “that due consideration is given to all risks involved in any new initiative,” and thus that “policymaking supports, and does not compromise, the availability and affordability of insurance”.
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[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
