Buyers to benefit from Solvency II: panellists

BERLIN, Germany— Solvency II, the proposed new risk-based capital regime for European insurers, ultimately will benefit buyers of insurance, according to executives gathered at the International Insurance Society Inc.'s 43rd annual conference in Berlin, Germany.

A European Union framework directive on Solvency II will be published Tuesday.

Panellists at a discussion at the IIS conference Monday said the regime, in the form that is currently expected, should lower insurers' capital requirements in some areas, and this benefit will be passed on both to buyers and shareholders.

Jacques Aigrain, chief executive officer of Zurich, Switzerland-based Swiss Reinsurance Co., said during a panel discussion that Solvency II should provide insurers and reinsurers with the opportunity to create an environment that benefits customers and create value for shareholders.