IAIS 2023 annual conference update

Addressing the global social and economic challenges through insurance

The global annual conferences hosted more than 400 people, from at least 100 jurisdictions, with regulators from around the world paying attention to the concept of insurance as foundational in addressing global social and economic challenges, highlighting the importance of the insurance sector’s and insurance supervisor’s role in bringing about transformation.

In his address at the Tokyo gathering, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida highlighted the importance of insurance companies in providing long-term funding in social challenges and “green” transformation policies as well as protection against risk. He also expressed strong belief in the increasing importance of public and private sectors taking collaborative action to address challenges such as climate change and natural catastrophe (natcat) and weather-related disasters.

Suggesting that it is “extremely important” that insurance supervisors around the world engage in dialogue, the prime minister also stressed on insurance companies maintaining their soundness, sophisticated governance, and management structure. Here, too, the IAIS demonstrated its focus on this dual concern of supervisors.

Conversations eventually took on the sentiments of collaboration and global standards harmonization in support of tackling challenges, from assessing alternative capital to climate change risks. Protection and solvency remained richly visited themes throughout the IAIS meetings in 2023.

Furthermore, leadership changes at the IAIS also took center stage at the IAIS in 2023 with Shigeru Ariizumi, vice minister for international affairs of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan, publicly taking the reins in Tokyo from outgoing Executive Committee (ExCo) Chair Vicky Saporta, executive director of prudential policy directorate at the Bank of England. Extolling her tenure and success in gathering all stakeholders together and developing a path forward agreeable to all IAIS members, Ariizumi outlined three issues, underscoring the continuation of Saporta’s leadership goals:

1. The International Capital Standard (ICS) implementation
2. The IAIS’s role in ensuring the insurance sector can deliver on its commitment to society with a call to action to narrow the natcat protection gap
3. Intensified efforts toward developing the IAIS 2025–2029 strategic plan

Through its public meetings in 2023, the IAIS also explored in depth the core pillars of oversight:

• The role of the IAIS in ensuring adequate protection for consumers in the face of accelerating climate change and natcat severity and frequency.
• Structural change during this final stretch toward implementation of the ICS and monitoring of risks such as liquidity, credit, and portfolio quality overall. This work is a key part of the IAIS’s focus and is designed to play a significant role in fortifying the insurance sector’s stability. (This also includes development of the IAIS 2025–2029 strategic plan.)
  

Gain additional insurance insights at upcoming IAIS events

The IAIS is focused on the development of the IAIS 2025–2029 strategic plan and financial outlook. This involves intensified efforts to set the medium-term strategic plan and a focus on implementation and capacity-building, according to the organization.

The IAIS is reviewing comments received on its closed public consultation on the ICS as a PCR. The US homegrown AM tested in an ICS comparability exercise should be finalized by the end of 2024, with templates anticipated in June.

The global seminar this year will be held July 8–11 and will be virtual. The annual meeting will be in Cape Town, South Africa, the first week of December, with details to be furnished later.

Take a deeper dive and plan your company’s next steps

Learn how insurance regulatory trends, discussions, and insights at the IAIS annual conferences have evolved through the years. Our library of recaps and highlights of the IAIS meetings cover the meetings from 2014 to 2019. Explore the IAIS updates collection.

And, if you’d like to talk about any of the updates you’ve read or how your insurance company can better strategize for the future, let’s set up a conversation.