FERMA’s position paper on Open Insurance, in view of EIOPA’s recent consultation

FERMA has published a position paper today welcoming the action of the European insurance and pensions regulatory agency, EIOPA, to promote greater sharing of insurance data. It regrets the absence of corporate insurance from the current EIOPA consultation but hopes that it will be influential across the market.

Click on above picture to read FERMA’s position paper on Open Insurance, in view of EIOPA’s recent consultation

EIOPA published its discussion paper ‘Open insurance: accessing and sharing insurance related data’ and linked public consultation to help frame technical advice it will deliver to the European Commission. While there is no universal definition of open insurance, it is generally understood to mean opening up the access and sharing of insurance-related data. The Commission is expected to produce a legislative proposal on Open Finance covering insurance in June 2022.

FERMA has now submitted its response to EIOPA’s online questionnaire and looks forward to discussing it further with EIOPA and the insurance value chain over the coming months.

Said FERMA President Dirk Wegener: “From our perspective as insurance buyers, it is a worthwhile and timely initiative by EIOPA to explore the potential risks and benefits that could result from ‘opening up’ insurance. However, we are disappointed that there is no specific reference to corporate insurance buyers in the discussion paper.”

FERMA explained that with the market hardening and restrictions on cover, corporate insurance buyers want to work with insurers to use risk-related information most effectively.

“Data is at the core of that process. A more open, transparent (re)insurance industry will help organisations find coverage that is tailored to their needs and so assist organisational resilience,” said Wegener.

There are regulatory barriers that inhibit data sharing between involved parties, as the report states. EIOPA’s consideration of these obstacles, says FERMA, is a welcome first step but it needs to go further. In particular, EIOPA should look into what currently prevents ‘openness’ with the buyer in mind, FERMA believes. For example, more diverse case studies could examine the issues involved for large risks facing companies, such as cyber.

FERMA’s CEO, Typhaine Beaupérin, tells us why FERMA welcomes EIOPA’s moves to “open up” the insurance industry especially to more data sharing, but regrets the lack of consideration for corporate and SMEs insurance buyers: