The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has published its Annual Report 2022, setting out its activities and achievements of the past year.
2022 was a year of uncertainties in Europe: the outbreak of a war waged by Russia on Ukraine, the resulting energy crisis and rising inflation have had far-reaching impacts on citizens and businesses in Europe. These global developments informed the way in which EIOPA worked to meet its strategic objectives.
In 2022, consumer protection remained a priority. EIOPA responded to concerns surrounding bancassurance by issuing a warning to insurance product manufacturers and banks acting as insurance distributors in relation to the sale of credit protection insurance products to identify potential sources of conduct risk and consumer detriment.
To enhance the quality and effectiveness of supervision, EIOPA made good use of its supervisory and oversight tools, including through active engagement with and visits to national competent authorities (NCAs) and third-country parties.
From a financial stability perspective, EIOPA continued to identify trends and potential risks and vulnerabilities of the industry in the context of a higher cost of living and slow economic growth. EIOPA published a supervisory statement on inflation, focusing on how inflation affects technical provisions, investments, and solvency capital requirements.
EIOPA carried out its first IORP climate stress test to gain insights into the effects of environmental risks on the European occupational pension sector and developed a set of risk indicators for physical climate change risk for non-life business.
As part of its work supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy, EIOPA published the first Europe-wide dashboard on natural catastrophe insurance protection gaps, as well as a number of other publications in this area.
In the area of digital innovation, EIOPA kept abreast of new developments as well as furthering work on, for example, Open Insurance, the use of block chain and machine learning.
Looking ahead, as the uncertainty continues, EIOPA will continue to deliver effective supervision, so that the insurance and pensions sectors can continue to deliver for policyholders and beneficiaries, business and the economy.