Insurance contracts no Brexit threat: EIOPA

There is no threat to European Union financial stability from insurers in Britain and Gibraltar that have yet to shift contracts with EU customers to the bloc in case of a hard Brexit, Reuters reported on Nov. 5 citing an EU watchdog.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) said the biggest insurers in Britain and Gibraltar are shifting nearly 30 million contracts with European Economic Area (EEA) customers to ensure "continuity" in case Britain crashes out of the EU without a withdrawal deal next March.

This left 9.1 million EEA customers still facing potential uncertainty and delays in payments on their policies - business worth €7.4 billion and mostly centred on a handful of UK insurers, EIOPA said. But 75 percent of the contracts concerned have average premiums of less than €100 a year.

"Only 3 percent of the potentially affected policyholders have a contract with life insurers," EIOPA said.

Based on this data, EIOPA said it saw no threat to EU financial stability, and that it was working with national regulators to deal with the "residual" risk.

The European Commission has said it is up to the insurers themselves, and not the bloc, to deal with cross-border insurance policies, Reuters noted. The Bank of England has called for urgent EU action to mirror legislative steps being taken in Britain, the news agency added.

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