COVID-19 May Slow International Group's Systemic Risk Project

The COVID-19 crisis is forcing the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to think about slowing efforts to strengthen insurers' ability to cope with crises.

The Basel, Switzerland-based regulator group says it may delay implementation of its systemic risk management framework.

The group is also giving members more time to test a new Insurance Capital Standard program, and it's giving the United States and other jurisdictions more time to show that their Insurance Capital Standard alternative, the Aggregation Method, produces comparable results.

Resources

A message about the IAIS COVID-19 response is available here.
An article about the IAIS capital standards effort is available here.

The Insurance Capital Standard and the Aggregation Method are supposed to provide insurer financial health indicators that could, eventually, do for insurance regulators all around the world what the risk-based capital ratio system does for U.S. regulators.

The IAIS is also replacing all in-person working group meetings that were scheduled to take place between now and September with conference calls, and it's canceling an event that was set to take place in Seattle in June.

The IAIS says it will be starting efforts to help insurers and their customers get through the COVID-19 disruption.

"IAIS member supervisors remain vigilant in terms of the financial soundness and operation resilience of insurers, in support of the protection of policyholders and the maintenance or financial stability," the IAIS says in the announcement of its COVID-19 response.

Another organization based in Basel, the Financial Stability Board, works to promote the stability of the entire world financial system.

The IAIS "is actively coordinating with the FSB and other standard setting bodies on cross-cutting financial system issues," the group says. "Further steps will be taken, as necessary, to coordinate the actions taken by IAIS members to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on insurers, safeguard policyholders and contribute to the maintenance of financial stability.

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