The EC published a legislative proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/138/EC on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II) as regards the dates of its transposition and application and the date of repeal of certain Directives (2012/0110). This would amend the dates of implementation and transposition of Solvency II, postponing transposition until 30 June 2014, and implementation until 1 January 2014.

This consultation covers three broad areas where advice is sought by the EC: the scope of application, the group wide internal governance requirements and sanctions and supervisory empowerments under the Directive. Responses are required by 13 August 2012.

EIOPA has published an Opinion on the evaluation of internal models for calculating capital requirements.

The FT reports that some insurance companies and asset managers may struggle to obtain the data on assets needed to comply with Solvency II transparency and reporting requirements. There are also concerns that disclosure of trading positions may affect corporate confidentiality.

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FOS has published the text of a provisional decision to partially uphold a consumer's complaint about pet insurance. The firm had decided to withdraw Halifax Pet Insurance from the market and the impact of the decision was in relation to costs the complainant would potentially incur as new insurance offered did not cover pre-existing conditions. The provisional decision concludes that the firm acted unfairly and should offer the complainant compensation for the problems and distress it has caused and pay to “top up” any alternative insurance cover she now purchases for her pet.

In this notice, addressed to “all PPI providers”, OFT is urged to provide compliance reports as required by the Payment Protection Insurance Market Investigation Order 2011 by the deadline of 13 April 2012, but says that it will take no action for non-compliance if the deadline is missed, provided it receives them by the end of 11 May 2012. It notes that PPI providers who send in compliance reports after 13 April 2012 will still be in breach of the Order and the fact that OFT will not act against a breach in the circumstances described above does not prevent affected third parties from taking action pursuant to section 167(4) of the Enterprise Act 2002.

The joint paper from the ESAs invites feedback on planned regulatory technical standards covering risk mitigation techniques for OTC derivatives not cleared by central counterparties. Responses are required by 2 April 2012. Following the consultation period, ESAs will prepare draft technical standards to be included in the consultation paper which will most likely be published in the summer of 2012. In addition, EBA has published a discussion paper on draft RTS on capital requirements for CCPs, which also requires responses by 2 April 2012. .(7/03/12) http://www.esma.europa.eu/system/files/jc_dp_2012_01.pdf; http://www.eba.europa.eu/cebs/media/aboutus/News%20and%20Communications/EBA-DP-2012-01--Draft-discussionpaper-on-RTS-on-Article-12-3-EMIR-.pdf

FSA has published a Notice of Undertaking by which the firm has agreed to change terms in certain home insurance contacts which FSA views as unfair under UTCCR.

This report is intended to assist national supervisors in gaining a better understanding of the use of intra-group support measures in times of stress or unexpected loss by financial groups across the banking, insurance and securities sectors. It provides an overview of the use of intra-group support and it is noted that it may also assist thematic work contemplated by FSB on deposit insurance schemes and feed into the ongoing policy development in relation to recovery and resolution plans. The report is based on the findings of a high-level stock-take which examined the use of intra-group support measures available to 31 banks, insurers and securities firms headquartered in Europe, North America and Asia and provides an overview and analysis of the types and frequency of intra-group support measures used in practice.