Latest news from FERMA. October was an exceptionally busy month for FERMA with the successful conference in Stockholm, the launch of the new logo and the new website. Now back in the office, we are working on the next stage of the guidance on the 8th Company Law Directive. We are planning our 2012 projects, among them the seminar and the benchmarking survey.
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How do FERMA members feel about loss adjusters? Would they like to see some form of registration or regulation? This issue, which has been discussed in FERMA a number of times in the past, has again become topical as part of European Commission discussions on the prevention and insurance of natural catastrophes. FERMA plans to circulate association presidents to ask their views, ahead of a possible meeting with the European Federation of Loss Adjusting Experts (FUEDI). Executive Manager Florence Bindelle, who attended a Commission seminar on natural catastrophes on 18 October, reported that the Commission is to carry out an in-depth examination of insurance schemes within the EU for natural catastrophes. Continue reading →

Former FERMA President Marie-Gemma Dequae took part in a meeting in Brussels of the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations (ecoDa) for the presentation of its Audit Committee Guidance for European Companies on 7 September. Continue reading →

No more EU corporate governance rules needed now, say European risk managers. The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) has told the European Commission that it should start with “implementation and robust enforcement” of existing EU corporate governance rules on risk management, rather than creating new ones now. This comment is contained in FERMA’s response, released today, to the consultative green paper on corporate governance framework produced by Commission staff. Continue reading →

The Federation of European Risk Management Associations (“FERMA”) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the European Commission’s staff working document, “Green Paper on the EU corporate governance framework”. Continue reading →

FERMA will express concern to the European Commission that it is trying to develop more regulations on corporate governance and risk management too quickly. Instead, FERMA believes the Commission should examine existing laws to make sure they are appropriate, and then enforce them, rather than rush to create new legislation. There should be more emphasis on implementation of the 8th Company Law Directive, which is in effect, and appropriate harmonisation of existing national corporate governance frameworks, FERMA board member Michel Dennery has indicated will be one of FERMA’s comments. Continue reading →

Leading MEP Malcolm Harbour, Chairman of the Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, told the FERMA roundtable that making Europe more innovative will be the big European issue over the next 18 months, and that risk management had a role to play. “Innovation is required to make Europe sustainable as a powerhouse of the global economy. We are pretty good, in many cases very good, at world leading research but we sometimes may not be so good at converting this into sustainable enterprises. We have to create the right sort of environment, and we are looking for financial instruments that will make it happen,” he said. Continue reading →

FERMA response to the consultation document Towards a Coherent European Approach to Collective Redress. Continue reading →

The revised European Insurance Mediation Directive (IMD) should incorporate binding standards of transparency for brokers in their relationship with insurance buyers no matter what size the risks. This is the response of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) to the consultation on the revision of the IMD launched by the Internal Market and Services
Directorate General of the European Commission. FERMA’s 19 member associations represent over 4 000 corporate buyers of commercial insurance in 17 European countries. Continue reading →