Archive

Solvency II, even before it goes live, is having an impact far beyond the 30 European countries it applies to. Three countries have applied for equivalence with the EU regime, eight others are interested in the transitional equivalence provisions and other countries are adopting some of the principles of Solvency II, as Lorna Davies reports

So says RMS' model expert Claire Souch, who acknowledges that the market was surprised by the degree of change in last year's new version of its US hurricane model. In this interview with IERM, she talks about this issue, model validation, what models don't cover, Solvency II and the increasing role of technology

Rosie Harris, CRO of Friends Life, has held a variety of roles which, she says, have prepared her perfectly for the CRO role. Switching people between the risk function and the wider business builds awareness of risk management through the whole organisation, she tells Lorna Davies

Last year's record series of catastrophes revived scepticism over the reliability of cat models. Guy Williams looks at the weaknesses in probabilistic modelling and ways to mitigate these including deterministic-based software

If you're looking for a definitive guide to the ORSA, look no further than the CRO Forum's latest discussion paper, which describes the key elements, common design features, the value of the assessment exercise, and reporting, including a sample report structure. Here's a shortened version

Liquidity swaps can give insurers collateralised exposure to higher-yielding assets and ease the pressure on investment performance. But does the yield pick-up compensate for the complexities of the market?

Lloyd's has published notes on the own risk and solvency assessment (ORSA) aimed at providing additional guidance for managing agents developing frameworks for this critical part of Solvency II

The LLMA's new indices promise a more tradable market in longevity risk, with greater appeal to investors, according to market players. But the market remains stuck in a "chicken and egg" situation on liquidity. Lorna Davies reports

Embedding an internal model into the business and being able to demonstrate this forms the core of the Solvency II "use test". To help meet the challenge, Daniel Bruce outlines a use test framework and some key principles

Robert Hiscox says the UK insurance industry is being "suffocated by the infliction of exaggerated standards on a pretty healthy industry," and he pleads for a Bank of England deputy governor to be responsible for insurance. Lorna Davies reports