Blog

In December 2019, before COVID-19 unfolded into a global crisis, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Bank of England published a joint consultation paper on how to strengthen operational resilience in financial institutions. The new requirements were in response to IT failures within the financial sector. Most strikingly the proposals introduce a new paradigm of outward-facing awareness where firms must factor in their impact on their customers and the financial system as a whole. Firms should no longer consider operational resilience to be constrained within their balance sheet. In hindsight, this was a timely publication, and these proposals were a clear precursor to the UK regulators’ response to COVID-19.

The coronavirus pandemic presents an opportunity for all stakeholders involved in promoting access to insurance to be more empathetic with those who usually lack financial resilience and to realise the urgent need to narrow the insurance gap to make them more resilient. This crisis should provide the insurance industry and supervisors with the impetus to enable and promote innovation to unlock access to valuable insurance products for those who need them the most and build trust in a responsible insurance market.

In light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation, regulators worldwide have been forced to respond quickly in terms of prudential and consumer protection measures, as well as operational relief. To date, prudential measures have been observed to be stronger in the banking sector. The scale of impact on the solvency positions of the insurance sector is still unfolding, and so most insurance supervisors  are currently  closely monitoring insurance assets and liabilities, investment portfolios and liquidity, all the while maintaining constant engagement with insurers.