IAIS to Continue to Address Impact of Pandemic on Insurance Sector
During June 2020 meetings, the IAIS Executive Committee discussed a wide range of policy issues, made progress on key projects, and refined the ongoing IAIS work program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Committee decided to prepare and publish an update of its 2020–2021 Public Roadmap. The Executive Committee also held two far-ranging discussions with a broad group of stakeholders—Stakeholder Dialog and CRO Roundtable—to examine the critical issues affecting the insurance sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Executive Committee agreed that the focus of its September Retreat will be on the longer-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on IAIS activities.
During the June 23–24 meeting, the Executive Committee approved an application paper on liquidity risk management, the Register of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (IAIGs), and peer reviews of ICP 4 on licensing, ICP 5 on suitability of persons), ICP 7 on corporate governance, and ICP 8 on risk management and internal controls. The Executive Committee also approved the report providing a detailed assessment of the implementation of all ICPs in the Kingdom of Morocco.
With respect to the critical issues affecting the insurance sector due to COVID-19, the Executive Committee Stakeholder Dialog was held on June 25, 2020. The Dialog provided an interactive virtual format for IAIS to share information on its 2020–2021 Roadmap activities and exchange perspectives with stakeholders on the impact of COVID-19 on their current and future focus, as well as discuss critical issues and trends related to or accelerated by the pandemic. Stakeholder input will be used to inform the IAIS future work program. Additionally, the Chief Risk Officers Roundtable was held on June 30, 2020. The Roundtable provided an opportunity for Committee members to engage with a representative cross-section of Chief Risk Officers from IAIGs and exchange views on the supervisory and policy responses to COVID-19 to date and to reflect on the key risks and vulnerabilities facing the sector in the coming months. Input from this Roundtable will inform the IAIS’ forward-looking qualitative assessment of risks, to complement the targeted COVID-19 data collection from individual insurers and supervisors.
Looking ahead, IAIS will continue to assess and address the implications of COVID-19 crisis on the global insurance sector and actively coordinate with FSB and other standard-setting bodies on cross-cutting financial system issues. Further steps will be taken, as necessary, to coordinate the actions taken by IAIS members to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the insurance sector, while ensuring that such actions do not roll back regulatory reforms or compromise the underlying commitment to the finalization and implementation of international standards.
Keywords: International, Insurance, COVID-19, ICP 16, Enterprise Risk Management, Governance, Peer Review, Work Program 2020, Roadmap, IAIG, Group Wide Supervisors, IAIS
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