Ever since the Brexit vote, the insurance industry has urged the UK Government to maintain passporting rights and secure a solid relationship with the European Union. However, just what impact is EU legislation having on the UK insurance industry and could it be that the sector is better off without it?
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has published an analysis of how EU legislation affects both the insurance and long-term savings industries – with
Insurance Business UK offering a free download of the
special report here.
The in-depth ‘mapping exercise’ identifies around 80 pieces of EU legislation that have a particular impact on the sector. This includes EU directives that are applied through UK Acts of Parliament (aka transposed) and EU regulations that apply directly. It also includes both legislation that is currently in force and that which is due to come into force in the next few years.
“While the Prime Minister has promised to enshrine all existing EU law into British law, there remains a much bigger challenge to decide which laws Parliament wants to retain in the longer term,” said Huw Evans, director general of the ABI.
“This analysis sets out quite how wide-ranging those issues will be when it comes to insurance and long-term savings. It identifies some 80 EU directives and regulations that will need to be worked through if we wish to ensure a broadly consistent framework of customer rights, legal responsibilities and financial stability with European markets we will want to trade with.
“The ABI and our members are committed to working constructively with the Government and parliamentarians to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead. This analysis will ensure an effective approach to help the tens of millions of customers our members serve.”
The legislation ranges from key consumer protections like the European Health Insurance Card and Data Protection regulations, to EU wide prudential regulations like Solvency II.
Of the 80 pieces of EU legislation identified, the analysis found that:
- 52 are transposed into UK Acts of Parliament
- 15 apply directly
- 12 are not in force yet (but are expected to be before 2019)
- 46 apply across both general insurance (GI) and long term savings (LTS), while 30 apply specifically to GI and 5 specifically to LTS
Follow the link to
download a free copy of the report now.
Related Stories:
Brexit: The impact on insurance three months on
UK insurers call for Solvency II changes
