Re/insurers welcome EU-US bilateral agreement

Trade bodies and re/insurers have welcomed the news that the EU and the US have signed a  bilateral agreement on insurance and reinsurance after more than 20 years of discussions and a year of formal negotiations.

Frank Nutter, president of the Reinsurance Association of America, said: "We commend the Administration for executing the Agreement. It is a significant milestone and one that recognizes the strength of the US state-based regulatory system and formalizes the strong regulatory cooperation between the US and the European Union on insurance and reinsurance issues.

“Importantly, the US and European Union have established a model of regulatory cooperation between well-regulated jurisdictions that others should follow.”

The Covered Agreement enhances the ability of US companies to do business in the EU by eliminating collateral and local presence requirements for qualified reinsurers and meaningfully streamlining group supervision requirements for insurers and reinsurers operating in both jurisdictions.

Evan Greenberg, chief executive Officer of Chubb, also commented on the agreement. "Chubb congratulates regulators and trade officials in both the European Union and the United States for reaching an agreement that respects the legitimacy of each other's regulatory structure and allows insurers and reinsurers to operate on a level and more predictable playing field,” he said.

"The agreement recognizes the soundness of the US state-based insurance regulatory system and allows US-supervised insurers to compete in Europe on the same basis as European insurers. The agreement also reflects US recognition of the soundness of the EU regulatory environment and will allow EU-based reinsurers to operate under the same conditions as U.S. companies.

"We applaud the spirit and intent of this agreement, which is a de facto acknowledgment by the European regulatory community that there is indeed more than one way to regulate the insurance industry.

"This agreement represents a critically important, mutually beneficial recognition among the United States and the European Union that insurance and risk are often global in nature."

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