The European Commission seemingly continues to refuse to take action to remedy the issue of cross-border contract continuity in a No Deal Brexit scenario.
In an press statement issued by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) today, they continue to insist that it is the responsibility of individual insurance and pension firms – rather than policymakers and regulators.
This is in stark contrast with the UK approach, where HM Treasury and the UK regulators announced in December 2017 that there would be a "temporary permissions" regime in a "no deal" scenario which would allow EU firms to continue to service contracts for UK customers.
In reaction to this morning's press statement from EIOPA, the Association of British Insurers' Director of Regulation, Hugh Savill, said:
“It beggars belief to see EIOPA still blindly calling for the UK industry to solve the problem of cross-border contract continuity in a No Deal Scenario. British insurers have already taken the action they can.
“We’ve said it time and time again – there is a simple solution. British authorities are committed to it. All the EU authorities have to do is to reciprocate. Quite why they are unwilling to provide this peace of mind to millions of EU policyholders is hard to fathom.”