Geneva Assn. to G20 leaders: Banking rules not appropriate for insurers

GENEVA—The Geneva Assn. has sent an open letter to the leaders of the Group of 20 of industrial and emerging-market nations that asks them to recognize that banking regulation is not appropriate for the insurance sector.

The Geneva Assn., a Geneva-based insurance think tank, said that while the insurance industry is committed to improving the resilience of the global financial system, it would like G20 leaders formally to recognize that insurers do not pose the same sort of systemic risk to the global financial system as banks.

In the letter, the Geneva Assn. said that while insurance is not expected to be on the agenda for the upcoming G20 meeting in Cannes, France, it hoped “the leaders of the G20 countries will take the specificities of the insurance industry into consideration when addressing any issues that could potentially undermine the positive contribution of this industry to economic development and growth.”