Brussels, 14 March 2024
The European Commission has today adopted a Delegated Decision renewing the 2015 equivalence decision for the United States in the area of insurance. The new decision will ensure that EU groups will continue to benefit from this equivalence framework for another period of ten years.
Thanks to this decision, EU insurance groups will be able to calculate capital requirements for their operations in the US on the basis of local rules. By eliminating the need to reconcile with EU rules, European groups can continue to operate on an equal footing with their American counterparts, and to benefit from alleviated administrative burden and reduced costs. This decision has been adopted pursuant to Article 227 of the Solvency II Directive.
While they are unilateral and discretionary acts of the EU, equivalence decisions in the financial sector play an important role in our relations with third countries. The Commission is keen to consider maintaining provisional equivalence regimes when there are clear benefits for the EU’s insurance industry. In order to renew an equivalence decision, certain conditions need to be fulfilled.
To provide legal certainty to EU insurance groups that operate in the US, it was necessary to renew the equivalence decision well in advance, in line with the Commission’s practice. Beyond the US, the Commission is working on renewing provisional equivalence decisions also for other third countries with a view to ensure timely renewal for those countries too.
More information on equivalence decisions adopted by the Commission is available here.
Source – EU Commission