PwC's Managing upstream risk: Regulatory reform review - An asian perspective December 2013 | Page 28

A summary of the three sessions is as follows:
Session I - Strategic Vision - Risks and
Opportunities for the Future of Life Insurance and
Pensions
• Among the biggest challenges participants outlined
protracted low interest rate environment affecting
the financial industry;
• Participants agreed that business strategies of life
insurers and IORPs should take into account such
trends as demographic changes; massive transfer
of wealth from savers to public sector and banks as
well as competition with the long-term investment
products provided by the banking sector; and
• Panellists concluded that in future life insurers
and IORPs should focus on such biometric data as
mortality, longevity, life expectancy rather than to
just concentrate on savings products, and another
strategic direction for companies should be the
increase in transparency.
Session II: Pensions – Towards an EU Framework

3. Insurance

• The existing framework for occupational pensions
is insufficient, comprising of only 84 cross-border
pensions schemes;
• The panel agreed that cross-border pension
schemes should be kept simple and that the
single European product is not supposed to be an
exclusive offer, but should go along with other
products; and
• The EC underlined that in its work on the IORP
Directive review it will not seek for a “one-fits-all
solution” for insurance and IORPs.

Update
The third Annual conference of EIOPA took place on
20 November 2013 as part of the Euro Finance Week
in Frankfurt. It provided more than 350 participants
from insurance companies and pension funds,
consumer representatives, professional associations,
academia, supervisory authorities, European and
international institutions with the opportunity
to exchange views on the recent regulatory and
supervisory developments in the (re)insurance and
pensions sectors.

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Regulatory Reform Review | Insurance

Session III: Solvency II - On Your Mark, Get Set,
Go
• Participants welcomed the agreement on the
Omnibus II and indicated that the agreement gives
the necessary level playing field;
• Participants outlined that one of the main issues
during the further implementation process will be
the discussion on the long-term investments. They
agreed that there should be a balance between
investments in the real economy and a prudent
approach; and
• The panel noted that the new framework
should not put an administrative burden and
inappropriate costs on small insurance companies.