US and EU talks ends with barriers to transatlantic business reduced

European and American representatives have reached an agreement to harmonise regulation of insurers and reinsurers and remove barriers to doing business. The deal is thought to reduce the amount of collateral a European insurer must hold against business taken in the US. The streamlining will affect supervision, reinsurance and information that is shared by regulators. A joint statement from both sides of the Atlantic read, "will ensure ongoing robust insurance consumer protection and provide enhanced regulatory certainty for insurers and reinsurers operating in both the US and the EU. With regard to reinsurance, the agreement will enhance consumer protection and will lead to the elimination of collateral and local presence requirements for EU and US reinsurers operating in these markets." The agreement stipulates that insurers are primarily subject to the regulatory authority of their home countries, not those of nations where they're doing business. The US side of negotiations wanted a swift agreement so they could continue to operate in Europe after solvency II rules took effect a year ago.