Analysis

• Conduct risk: not just another category for the risk register

  02 August 2013

  The UK's new financial conduct regulator is taking a close look at the insurance industry, but how can firms ensure they don't find themselves embroiled in a mis-selling scandal? Andrew Bird explains

• Insurers urge no reporting in Solvency II's preparation phase

  24 July 2013

  Responses to Eiopa's consultation on the 2014-2016 preparation phase for Solvency II have come back with a strong message that the reporting is too burdensome and the ORSA should be stripped of its quantitative elements. Christopher Cundy reports

• Nine global systemically important insurers named

  19 July 2013

  The Financial Stability Board's designation of systemically risky insurers has brought howls of protest from the industry, but the impact on the nine firms is not easy to gauge. Christopher Cundy reports

• Why big data is a big deal

  17 July 2013

  It's often said that insurance will be one of the many industries to benefit from the big data revolution. Peggy Brinkmann and Nancy Watkins break down the buzzwords and explain the techniques insurers can use to improve their risk analysis, detection of claims fraud and marketing

• New capital muscles into the reinsurance business

  12 July 2013

  Hedge funds, pension funds and wealth managers are among the newer investors reshaping the way that reinsurance operates and prices risk. These non-traditional investors like the returns available and the lack of correlation with other capital markets. But do they fully appreciate the risks? Sarfraz Thind reports

• What the LTGA really says about the matching adjustment

  10 July 2013

  A workable matching adjustment is critical for many insurers facing the prospect of complying with Solvency II, but Eiopa's recent study on long-term guarantee measures has left some aspects ambiguous and others unfeasible. Kim Durniat delves into Eiopa's concluding report to bring out the nuances

• Low interest rates challenge regulators as well as insurers

  05 July 2013

  Current economic policies are creating market distortions that insurers and their regulators should tackle sooner rather than later, says Daniel Hofmann, advisor to the chairman of Zurich Insurance Group

• Phoenix breathes new life into its actuarial systems

  03 July 2013

  The UK closed-fund consolidator has replaced its myriad modelling systems with just one, in a huge three-year project that is said to have been on time and on budget. For Phoenix, the project was not only operationally necessary; it was a strategic imperative. InsuranceERM explains

• Emerging risks test re/insurers' monitoring systems

  28 June 2013

  In an ever more complex, interconnected and fast-moving world, the task of spotting the emerging risks that could have critical impacts on insurance companies is becoming harder. Christopher Cundy reports on how firms are tackling the issue

• Protests against FTT build up steam

  21 June 2013

  Europe's Financial Transaction Tax has now been adopted by 11 states. Many insurers argue that the tax will make running their businesses more difficult and costly -- to the detriment of their customers. With less than six months left until the official implementation date, Sarfraz Thind looks at whether the industry has time to make its voice heard