BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) In Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2015/2290, it was determined that the solvency regime in force in, inter alia, the United States and applicable to insurance and reinsurance undertakings with head offices in that third country is to be considered provisionally equivalent to the regime laid down in Title I, Chapter VI of Directive 2009/138/EC. That provisional equivalence was granted as of 1 January 2016 and for a period of 10 years. Article 227(6), second subparagraph of Directive 2009/138/EC provides for the possibility to renew that provisional equivalence for further periods of 10 years, provided that the criteria laid down in Article 227(5) of that Directive continue to be met and subject to a delegated act of the Commission to that effect. In addition, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (‘EIOPA’) is to assist the Commission when taking such a decision. 

(2) The United States authorities and the Union authorities have regular dialogues to improve their mutual understanding of their insurance regulatory and supervisory regimes. It appeared from those dialogues, and from assistance provided by EIOPA, that the criteria referred to in Article 227(5) of Directive 2009/138/EC continue to be met by the solvency regime in force in the United States. 

(3) In the United States, insurers must comply with the applicable laws for each state in which they write policies, and insurance supervision is in the hands of independent state supervisors under state insurance commissioners. State capital adequacy requirements are based on the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Risk-Based Capital (RBC) Model Law, which has been adopted by all states. The RBC standard formula covers the most material risks for each of the primary insurance types (life, property and casualty, and health), allowing for the use of internal models for specific products and risk modules. RBC is calculated by applying factors to various assets, and premium, claim, expense, and reserve items. There are four levels of quantitative capital requirements with different supervisory interventions in each case: Company Action Level, Regulatory Action Level, Authorised Control Level, and Mandatory Control Level. The United States regime has an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment for insurers comparable to the one laid down in of Directive 2009/138/EC. Regarding reporting and transparency, there are standardised reporting requirements, covering mainly: business and performance, risk profile, valuation methods and assumptions used, capital requirements, and management. Financial statements, including the actuarial opinion and the auditor’s statement, are to be publicly disclosed. State insurance commissioners may share confidential information with foreign supervisors, provided that the recipient agrees to maintain the confidentiality of that information. Those state insurance commissioners may also enter into agreements governing the sharing and use of confidential information. 

(4) Several Memoranda of Understanding on exchange of information have been signed between Union supervisors and insurance departments of the US states. Since the adoption of Delegated Decision (EU) 2015/2290/EC, a further eleven US states have become signatories to the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. Confidentiality rules based on NAIC model laws, are incorporated into state legislation and require state supervisors and their staff to maintain the confidentiality of information received from foreign supervisors. 

(5) On the basis of the assistance provided by EIOPA and in the light of the solvency requirements applicable in the United States, it is clear that the criteria laid down in Article 227(5) of Directive 2009/138/EC continue to be met by solvency regime in force in the United States applicable to undertakings with their head office in that third country. It is therefore appropriate to renew the determination, laid down in Delegated Decision (EU) 2015/2290/EC, that that solvency regime is provisionally equivalent to that laid down in Title I, Chapter VI of Directive 2009/138/EC. The Commission may, however, undertake a specific review at any time where relevant developments make it necessary to re-assess the equivalence determined by this Decision, including international developments. Such regular or specific reviews could lead to the amendment or repeal of this Decision. The Commission should therefore continue to monitor, with the assistance of EIOPA, the evolution of the solvency regime in force in the United States and the fulfilment of the conditions on the basis of which this Decision has been adopted. 

(6) To give the Union businesses the necessary legal certainty, the provisional decisions should be renewed well in advance, in line with the Commission’s practice. This decision covers the United States due to the fact that the Commission has all information necessary for the renewal of the determination that the solvency regime in force in that third country is provisionally equivalent to that laid down in Title I, Chapter VI of Directive 2009/138/EC. The Commission will initiate the process of renewing provisional equivalence decisions for other third countries and take a final decision on the specific renewals after having received EIOPA’s assessments on the third countries concerned.