Related insurance and reinsurance undertakings
Where the insurance or reinsurance undertaking has more than one related insurance or reinsurance undertaking, the group solvency calculation shall be carried out by including each of those related insurance or reinsurance undertakings.
Member States may provide that where the related insurance or reinsurance undertaking has its head office in a Member State other than that of the insurance or reinsurance undertaking for which the group solvency calculation is carried out, the calculation takes account, in respect of the related undertaking, of the Solvency Capital Requirement and the own funds eligible to satisfy that requirement as laid down in that other Member State.
Intermediate insurance holding companies
1. When calculating the group solvency of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking which holds a participation in a related insurance undertaking, a related reinsurance undertaking, a third-country insurance undertaking or a third-country reinsurance undertaking, through an insurance holding company, the situation of such an insurance holding company shall be taken into account.
For the sole purpose of that calculation, the intermediate insurance holding company shall be treated as if it were an insurance or reinsurance undertaking subject to the rules laid down in Title I, Chapter VI, Section 4, Subsections 1, 2 and 3 in respect of the Solvency Capital Requirement and were subject to the same conditions as are laid down in Title I, Chapter VI, Section 3, Subsections 1, 2 and 3, in respect of own funds eligible for the Solvency Capital Requirement.
2. In cases where an intermediate insurance holding company holds subordinated debt or other eligible own funds subject to limitation in accordance with Article 98, they shall be recognised as eligible own funds up to the amounts calculated by application of the limits set out in Article 98 to the total eligible own funds outstanding at group level as compared to the Solvency Capital Requirement at group level.
Any eligible own funds of an intermediate insurance holding company, which would require prior authorisation from the supervisory authority in accordance with Article 90 if they were held by an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, may, be included in the calculation of the group solvency only in so far as they have been duly authorised by the group supervisor.
Related third-country insurance and reinsurance undertakings
1. When calculating, in accordance with Article 233, the group solvency of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking which is a participating undertaking in a third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking, the latter shall, solely for the purposes of that calculation, be treated as a related insurance or reinsurance undertaking.
However, where the third country in which that undertaking has its head office makes it subject to authorisation and imposes on it a solvency regime at least equivalent to that laid down in Title I, Chapter VI, Member States may provide that the calculation take into account, as regards that undertaking, the Solvency Capital Requirement and the own funds eligible to satisfy that requirement as laid down by the third country concerned.
2. The verification of whether the third-country regime is at least equivalent shall be carried out by the group supervisor, at the request of the participating undertaking or on its own initiative.
In so doing, the group supervisor shall consult the other supervisory authorities concerned and CEIOPS before taking a decision on equivalence.
3. The Commission may adopt implementing measures specifying the criteria to assess whether the solvency regime in a third country is equivalent to that laid down in Title I, Chapter VI.
Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 301(3).
4. The Commission may adopt, after consultation of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Committee and in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 301(2), and taking into account the criteria adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, a decision as to whether the solvency regime in a third country is equivalent to that laid down in Title I, Chapter VI.
Those decisions shall be regularly reviewed to take into account any changes to the solvency regime laid down in Title I, Chapter VI, and to the solvency regime in the third country.
5. Wherein accordance with paragraph 4 the Commission adopts a decision on equivalence of the solvency regime in a third country, paragraph 2 shall not apply.
Where a decision adopted by the Commission in accordance with paragraph 4 concludes that the solvency regime in a third country is not equivalent, the option referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 to take into account the Solvency Capital Requirement and eligible own funds as laid down by the third country concerned shall not be applicable and the third-country insurance or reinsurance undertaking shall be treated exclusively in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 1.
Related credit institutions, investment firms and financial institutions
When calculating the group solvency of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking which is a participating undertaking in a credit institution, investment firm or financial institution, Member States shall allow their participating insurance and reinsurance undertakings to apply methods 1 or 2 set out in Annex I to Directive 2002/87/EC mutatis mutandis . However, method 1 set out in that Annex shall be applied only where the group supervisor is satisfied as to the level of integrated management and internal control regarding the entities which would be included in the scope of consolidation. The method chosen shall be applied in a consistent manner over time.
Member States shall however allow their supervisory authorities, where they assume the role of group supervisor with regard to a particular group, to decide, at the request of the participating undertaking or on their own initiative, to deduct any participation as referred to in the first paragraph from the own funds eligible for the group solvency of the participating undertaking.
Non-availability of the necessary information
Where the information necessary for calculating the group solvency of an insurance or reinsurance undertaking, concerning a related undertaking with its head office in a Member State or a third country, is not available to the supervisory authorities concerned, the book value of that undertaking in the participating insurance or reinsurance undertaking shall be deducted from the own funds eligible for the group solvency.
In that case, the unrealised gains connected with such participation shall not be recognised as own funds eligible for the group solvency.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
