Mazars Malta, a member firm of the international auditing firm, recently organised a seminar titled Solvency II – A Practical Approach, which was attended by over 60 representatives from the insurance sector, which will be affected by Solvency II. Participants, who included a cross-section of decision-makers such as chief executives, directors, finance managers, risk and compliance officers as well as consultants, examined key issues which currently top the European agenda with regard to these legislative measures.
Elaborating on the aims of the seminar, Mazars UK partner Peter Gatenby, who leads the actuarial work of Mazars globally, said that Solvency II is an EU legislative programme, to be implemented in all member states, which introduces a new, harmonised, EU-wide insurance regulatory regime. The legislation replaces 13 existing EU insurance directives and is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2016.
Solvency II has implications for, and will impact the work of a swathe of professionals in the insurance and financial sectors. The aim of this seminar was to update these professionals on Solvency II, and to discuss how this will affect them in terms of implementation and compliance.
The seminar tackled Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and the need for closely-integrated risk and capital management. These are issues which, according to Gatenby, “are at the heart of Solvency II”.
Participants were also acquainted with the forthcoming introduction of Pillar III reporting standards, as a result of which insurers will be required to publish details of the risks facing them on capital adequacy as well as risk management.
Gatenby believes that: “This emphasis by EU legislators on transparency and open information is intended to assist market forces in imposing greater discipline on the industry.”
The seminar was introduced by Alan Craig, partner Advisory Services at Mazars Malta, who spoke about the company’s credentials in the insurance sector from both a local and international perspectives.
During the event, Mazars Malta launched its range of actuarial services in conjunction with Mazars UK.
Mazars Malta are MFSA-approved insurance auditors and provide a range of assurance services to this sector, including internal audit.
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