GFIA Global Federation of Insurance Associations

GFIA has again raised serious concerns about proposed capital rules from the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI), which the industry fears could lead to a lack of coverage in Canada.

Proposals by the Canadian Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to limit the ability of insurers to use reinsurance would require firms operating in Canada to more than triple their current capital base.

GFIA strongly supports the Japanese Group of 20 (G20) Presidency’s focus on the ageing society, which reflects the importance of finding ways to ensure that people can live a decent and healthy life throughout their retirement.

To develop an effective holistic framework for systemic risk in the insurance sector, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) must better define systemically risky activities.

GFIA has provided feedback to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on its next steps on cyber issues.

The significant costs insurers face when developing recovery plans — as well as the existence of other risk management tools — mean that insurance supervisors must have the flexibility to tailor rules.

GFIA has responded to an International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) application paper on proactive supervision of corporate governance.

GFIA has today announced the election of Recaredo Arias as its new president,as well as new appointments to its executive committee (ExCo), following a vote yesterday at its annual general assembly.

GFIA has today published its Annual Report for 2017-18, which provides an overview of the federation’s activities over the past 12 months, along with positions and opinion pieces on the issues facing insurers worldwide.

Discussions at the G20 Insurance Forum, which is being held over the next two days in Argentina, will provide a fascinating insight into the opportunities and challenges facing the global insurance industry, according to GFIA.

GFIA has published its response to an issues paper by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on the increasing use of digital technology in insurance and its potential impact on consumers.

Insurers would need to develop new systems to capture the information required in proposed revisions by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) to Insurance Core Principle (ICP) 20 on public disclosure, GFIA said in response to an IAIS consultation.

GFIA has published its response to a consultation by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on Insurance Core Principle (ICP) 6 — changes in control and portfolio transfers.

GFIA has published its response to an International Association of Insurance Associations (IAIS) consultation on its application paper on the supervision of insurer cyber-security.

GFIA has published its response to a consultation on the cyber lexicon. GFIA welcomes the efforts of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to enhance cross-border cooperation in addressing cyber risk and, as part of that effort, the FSB’s work on a cyber lexicon. Such a lexicon would provide consistency for FSB work streams such as information-sharing and cross-border guidance.

GFIA has today published an infographic that highlights the importance of financial education in increasing financial inclusion around the world.

GFIA has written to the US Treasury to call for guidance to assist insurers and their investors in complying with the Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) insurance exemption, as amended by the 2017 US tax reform law.

In a new report, "Older and wiser: Solutions to the global pension challenge”, GFIA has today put forward policy recommendations to help reduce the global pension savings gap.

GFIA has published a set of key observations on cybersecurity and cyber insurance.

GFIA has provided comments to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) on its extended field testing of the Insurance Capital Standard (ICS) version 1.0.

GFIA's new Annual Report provides an overview of the federation’s activities over the past 12 months, along with positions and opinion pieces on all the main global insurance topics of the day.

GFIA has written to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to raise concerns about the revised draft of proposed regulations on the 'Outsourcing of Activities by Indian Insurers'.

GFIA has provided comments on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Core Principles for Private Pension Regulation.

GFIA has provided feedback on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) draft report, Technology and Innovation in the Insurance Sector.

GFIA has responded to a request for feedback to an International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) draft stakeholder engagement plan.

GFIA has today published its Annual Report for 2015-2016, which highlights the federation’s areas of focus over the past twelve months. It also includes a set of thought-pieces on key topics of concern, including market conduct, systemic risk and financial inclusion.

Following its general assembly, GFIA has announced the election of its executive committee (ExCo).

GFIA responded to a questionnaire from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on cyber risk insurance addressed to the private sector, which aims to assess the market and nature of available insurance coverage.

In late March, GFIA met with representatives of the Chinese Group of 20 (G-20) Presidency, where it welcomed the G-20’s aim of stimulating an "innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy”.

Proposals made by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors’ (IAIS) in its consultation on assessing non-traditional non-insurance activities and products (NTNI) status are overly complex and require fine tuning, according to GFIA.

Ahead of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, to be held from 15 to 18 December 2015, Brad Smith, chair of GFIA's trade working group said...

Ahead of the upcoming round of negotiations for a Trade in International Services Agreement (TiSA), that will take place from 29 November to 4 December 2015, Brad Smith, chair of GFIA's trade working group said...

Today, GFIA hosted a regulatory roundtable in Marrakesh, Morocco. This regulatory roundtable had the honour of being held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

GFIA recently wrote to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to raise concerns about its revised discussion draft on action seven from the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan, which looks at preventing the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment status for tax purposes.

On 29 July, GFIA and Turkish Insurance Association (TSB) will hold a joint event to examine the role that insurance can play in helping to achieve the objectives set by the Turkish G-20 presidency.

Recently, GFIA wrote to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to comment on its second draft of the regulations for the registration and operations of branch offices of foreign reinsurers, excluding Lloyd's of London.

The G-20 should prevent or remove regulatory barriers that discourage insurers from making long-term investments that underpin economic growth, according to the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA).

On 6 February, GFIA sent comments to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the discussion draft on revisions to Chapter I of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines (action points 8, 9 and 10).

GFIA has written to the Indian Prime Minister asking for his support in approving the 2004 Insurance (Amendment) Bill in the Indian Parliament.

GFIA has written to the International Monetary Fund with concerns regarding the restrictions expected to be introduced under the new Ecuadorian Financial and Monetary Code.

Following its meeting in Amsterdam today, GFIA has announced the appointment of Governor Dirk Kempthorne as its new chair, for a two-year term. Governor Kempthorne replaces Frank Swedlove, the inaugural chair of the GFIA, who will remain as a member of the executive committee as past chair.

Today, GFIA publishes its second Annual Report, setting out the progress made with GFIA's key dossiers, including capital standards, trade issues and market conduct over the last 12 months.

As a major source of long-term investment, insurers can provide significant support to the G-20 in achieving its aim of 2% collective growth over the next five years. In order to do this policymakers must, however, ensure that the right regulatory and framework conditions are in place, according to a letter sent by the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA) to the G-20 Presidency.

GFIA’s response to the Basic Capital Requirement (BCR) consultation has indicated that the effectiveness of the proposed BCR is heavily dependent on the calibration of the alpha scalar as well as the design of the Higher Loss Absorbency (HLA), and how it will they will apply together with the BCR.

GFIA supports the recommendations made by the Business 20 (B20) group on how private sector activity and investment can help the Australian G20 Presidency meet the ambitious growth targets agreed at the Finance Ministers’ meeting in February 2014.

In a series of meetings this week with the Australian G-20 Presidency, GFIA has called on the G-20 to ensure that all international regulatory reform initiatives allow the insurance sector to continue to support the ambitious growth targets agreed last month by G-20 finance ministers.

GFIA has stressed that the basic capital requirements (BCR) being developed for global systemically important insurers (G-SIIs) should not encourage pro-cyclical behaviour.

While recognising the improvements made in the latest draft of a common framework for the supervision of international insurance groups (ComFrame), GFIA has put forward a number of issues that still need to be addressed. 

GFIA has written to the governments working towards a Trade in International Services Agreement (TISA) to express support for their efforts.

GFIA has urged the Indian government not to defer approval of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which would increase the foreign direct investment allowed in Indian insurance companies. Its open letter to the Indian prime minister also appeared in India’s "Business Standard” newspaper on 13 December.

GFIA is pleased to announce two new members: the Non-Life Insurance Association of the Republic of China (NLIA) and the Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ). They take its membership to 37 associations which account for 87% of total insurance premiums worldwide. The NLIA represents 26 non-life insurance companies across Taiwan, while the IAZ represents all licensed life, health and general (re)insurance companies in Zambia.

GFIA has expressed concerns about the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's action plan on tax base erosion and profit shifting, highlighting that the proposals could have unintended negative consequences. GFIA supports efforts to combat tax evasion but stresses that any action must be carefully targeted to avoid penalising commercially driven affiliate reinsurance.

GFIA has published its first Annual Report, setting out the advocacy activities it has undertaken on behalf of the world's insurers since it was founded on 9 October 2012.

Frank Swedlove, chair, GFIA, said: "GFIA notes today's announcement by the IAIS about its development of a global risk-based capital standard. GFIA is committed to working with the IAIS to ensure that the IAIS's work leads to a standard that is suitable and workable for the industry. It is important that any capital standard reflects the nature of the insurance business and is not simply the adoption of a capital standard from another sector. GFIA will be seeking more clarity and detail from the IAIS in the coming days about its intentions and workplan." 

GFIA has responded to a consultation by the Financial Stability Board on its principles for an "Effective Risk Appetite Framework", stressing that the paper should take greater account of the diversity of insurance business models and should include statements on proportionality and confidentiality in the treatment of sensitive information.

Ahead of the G-20 summit in St Petersburg on 5-6 September, GFIA has written to the Russian G-20 Presidency setting out insurance-related issues that it feels should be explicitly referenced in the St Petersburg action plan.  

GFIA has written to the Indian Prime Minister to reiterate its strong support for the potential approval of the Indian Insurance Law Amendment Bill.  

Frank Swedlove, GFIA chair, made a keynote speech at Insurance Europe's 5th International Conference in Rome in June. Swedlove talked about the foundation of GFIA and its work so far. 

GFIA is disappointed that greater recognition has not been given to the specific characteristics of the insurance business model in yesterday's publication by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) of a methodology to identify global systemically important insurers (G-SIIs), a list of G-SIIs and the measures to be applied to them.  

The GFIA Insurance Research working group has compiled an index of publicly available studies and publications produced by GFIA member associations.

GFIA welcomes the recent communiqué by the G-20 which underlines the need for long-term investment to underpin economic growth and job creation.  

In a letter to the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), GFIA has called for industry representatives to be included in the field testing taskforce for ComFrame, the common framework being developed for the supervision of international groups.

The chairman of the Global Federation of Insurance Associations, Frank Swedlove, has today released an open letter to India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and other leading Indian officials.

GFIA has commented in writing and at the 14 January observer hearing of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors on the confidentiality provisions under ComFrame, the proposed supervisory framework for international insurance groups.  

The Australian Financial Services Council launches the FSC Life Insurance Conference 2013 to be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, 21 March 2013.  

Thirty-two insurance associations representing 87 per cent of the worldwide insurance business formally established the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA) today.