Analysis

• Avoiding the Solvency II train wreck

  07 March 2013

  Not so long ago Solvency II was hailed as the emerging 'gold standard' for setting insurance firms' regulatory capital – but it now bears a closer resemblance to a slow-motion train wreck, says John Hibbert. He identifies the causes of the crisis and speculates on what might be done to avoid repeating the same errors elsewhere.

• Tom Leonardi: "We have a terrific system in the US"

  05 March 2013

  Whether at the state, federal or international level, Connecticut insurance commissioner Thomas Leonardi is helping to deliver new regulations. He tells Gloria Gonzalez that the US regulatory framework worked very well during the financial crisis

• How the matching adjustment helps insurers in a crisis

  28 February 2013

  Daily solvency monitoring offers valuable insights into an insurers' risk profile and its regulatory capital requirements – and demonstrates the potential power of the matching adjustment. Matthew Cocke, Russell Osman and Russell Ward explain

• Cat modellers set out their platforms

  26 February 2013

  For Eqecat, AIR and RMS, the future is platforms and the promise to give clients more model transparency and control. Open-architecture initiatives such as Oasis are also gearing up. Lorna Davies details the developments

• The unresolved issues of Solvency II

  21 February 2013

  The delay of full implementation to beyond 2014 will allow extra time for important details in all three pillars of Solvency II to be resolved – and may bring old niggles to the surface again. Lorna Davies looks into some of the outstanding issues, for policy-makers and insurers, that will be kicked over in the coming months

• Using least-squares Monte Carlo in a multi-year context

  19 February 2013

  A year ago on this site, Michael Leitschkis and Mario Hoerig explained the advantages of least-squares Monte Carlo (LSMC) over other proxy modelling techniques for estimating capital. Here, with Florian Ketterer and Christian Bettels, they describe how to extend a one-year application of LSMC to scenarios of several years

• Insurance enterprise risk managment: the state it's in

  14 February 2013

  Insurers' satisfaction with ERM grows, but plans for using economic capital stall - these are among the seven key findings from Towers Watson's recent worldwide survey. Christopher Cundy asks Laura Santori and Martin Pike to explain

• Solvency II: who's ready to comply?

  12 February 2013

  As regulators plan to introduce elements of pillars 2 and 3 from 1 January 2014, InsuranceERM takes a tour of the major European countries to see how prepared they are – and where they may have problems complying

• Solvency II phase-in: complex, costly and arbitrary?

  07 February 2013

  Eiopa's plan for a harmonised introduction of the risk management and reporting elements of Solvency II in 2014 is not without controversy. Most insurers are comfortable with the theory, but concerned about the practice. Christopher Cundy reports

• Brazil's insurers see benefits of ERM

  05 February 2013

  Enterprise risk management could help insurers in Brazil as they strive for increased capital efficiency in a climate of decreasing returns from financial assets, higher regulatory, risk-based, capital requirements and growing competition. Nuno Vieira explains