With less than 9 months until the UK leaves the EU, the European Commission is still refusing to tackle the issue of cross-border contract continuity. In an ‘Opinion’ 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.
Reacting to the statement, the Association of British Insurers' Senior Adviser to the Director General, Jon de Beer said:
“It is exasperating that EIOPA continue to ignore the interests of millions of policyholders across the EU. As the Bank of England Governor has said, this needs a political solution because industry solutions are inadequate.”