Raj Singh, Standard Life's group chief risk officer
How has Solvency II changed the industry?
I think it changed the industry in a few ways in a very big manner. The first thing is that it brought risk-based capital to the framework of risk-based steering. It really has become a key part of the people's steering of the company, and also the management of compensation, which is becoming very important. The other part is that pillar II has brought risk-management focus.
Which element of Solvency II has been most challenging for the industry?
I would like to give two elements. The first one is around data. Data has been a huge challenge for the industry, we had to extract it and make it auditable. The second, which was equally tough, was the constant change from the regulator and waiting until the last day for details on how to file the internal model application.
How will you be celebrating the launch of Solvency II?
The launch is something I have to celebrate because I am one of the older guys in the industry and have been around for 14 years in this Solvency II saga. There is a group of regulators and industry people who get together for ten years in Finland. We will do our celebratory meeting in Finland again next year. That will be our final celebration.
