The insurance industry has called on the EU to publish a clear and coherent roadmap for the development of the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD). In a position paper released the day of a European Parliament vote on the IRRD, Insurance Europe argues that currently there is a ‘mismatch’ in the timeline between when the new requirements are expected to be implemented and the development of important technical standards and guidelines which are needed to put the new regime into practice.

Following the agreement by the EU co-legislators, the IRRD – which tightens regulation of the insurance industry and creates additional powers for authorities in the event of insurer failures – is expected to be published in the EU’s Official Journal (OJEU) later this year. Members states – and the industry – will then have to implement the new rules 24 months later.

However, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) have been asked to develop 19 technical standards and guidelines, up to 30 months after the publication in the OJEU. Insurance Europe warns that these mismatching schedules create significant uncertainty on the implementation of the IRRD.

Insurance Europe had previously welcomed the improvements made by the EU’s co-legislators when an agreement was made in December 2023. Nevertheless, the industry federation continues to question the added value of the IRRD given the robust safeguards that exist to protect policymakers provided by Solvency II – the EU’s prudential regime - and the additional regulatory burden that it will bring.