UK government to challenge EU over insurance rules

The UK government is set to challenge the EU commission head-on with regards to solvency II rules which are set to be introduced to the European marketplace in the short term. The UK government believes that these "over conservative" solvency rules will see UK insurance companies having to shore up their reserves by up to £50 billion. There will obviously be a cost to this additional reserve requirement, something which is likely to be met by customers.



The UK has one of the most competitive insurance markets in Europe and yet again many people are pointing the finger at the EU commission, which is determined to crack the UK financial markets and bring them under the regulatory control of the European Union. In effect this has already happened with the various treaties signed by European member states but the UK government is set to tackle this particular issue head-on as it will have a detrimental effect on the UK insurance sector, pensioners and future rates of investment return.



The issue of increasing reserve capital is a direct consequence of the credit crunch which saw a number of "solid assets" collapse like a pack of cards once the financial system began to seize up.