The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors from over 190 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. It is the international
standards-setting body for the insurance sector. The IAIS was established in 1994 and operates as a ''verein'', a type of non-profit organisation under Swiss Civil Law.
The IAIS' mission is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry in order to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders and to contribute to the maintenance of global financial stability.
Structure
The IAIS' activities are supported by its secretariat and headed by a secretary general. The IAIS is hosted by the
Bank for International Settlements
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".
The BIS carries out its work thr ...
(BIS).
The IAIS works in partnership with BIS-hosted committees such as the
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and th
Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI) as well as other BIS-hosted entities such as the
Financial Stability Board (FSB), the
Financial Stability Institute (FSI) and the
International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI). The IAIS also works closely with other standard-setting bodies not hosted by the BIS, such as
the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Committees
The IAIS delivers on its mission through a committee system made up of its members. The Committee system is led by an executive committee whose 38 members come from different regions of the world, representing advanced and developing insurance markets.
The executive committee is supported by the following five Committees established under its by-laws:
# Audit and Risk Committee;
# Budget Committee;
# Implementation and Assessment Committee;
# Macroprudential Committee; and
# Policy Development Committee.
Committees may establish subcommittees to help carry out their duties.
Activities
Guided by its strategic plan, the IAIS develops a two-year roadmap setting out the specific projects that the IAIS will undertake over the next two years. Projects and activities contained within the roadmap can be broadly divided into three categories:
# Standard setting: The IAIS develops supervisory material (principles, standards and guidance) for effective supervision of insurance-related activities. Notably, the IAIS has developed the Insurance Core Principles (ICPs) and the Common Framework for the Supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (ComFrame). The ICPs provide the globally accepted standards for supervision of the insurance sector. ComFrame builds on the ICPs and establishes supervisory standards and guidance focusing on the effective group-wide supervision of Internationally Active Insurance Groups (IAIGs). In 2019, the IAIS also published version 2.0 of the Insurance Capital Standard and the Holistic Framework for the Assessment and Mitigation of Systemic Risk in the Insurance Sector. The IAIS also develops supporting material to supplement its supervisory material and provide additional background on specific areas of interest to insurance supervisors.
# Implementation and Assessment: The IAIS actively promotes the implementation of its supervisory material. Working closely with international organisations and regional groups of supervisors, it supports training seminars and conferences, as well as initiatives to support financial inclusion. In addition, the IAIS conducts assessments and peer reviews of observance of supervisory material, consistent with the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
# Financial stability: The IAIS has a role in the identification, assessment and mitigation of systemic risk in the insurance sector. Activities in the area of financial stability include monitoring global insurance market trends and developments and detecting the possible build-up of systemic risk in the global insurance sector, as well as analyzing and developing IAIS supervisory and supporting material on issues related to financial stability, systemic risk and macroprudential supervision. It assists its Members in developing enhanced macroprudential surveillance tools.
Financial sector coordination
The IAIS coordinates its work with other standard-setting bodies, international financial policymakers and associations of supervisors or regulators. In particular, the IAIS is a member of the:
*
Financial Stability Board
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body that monitors and makes recommendations about the global financial system. It was established after the G20 London summit in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum ...
(FSB)
* Member of the Standards Advisory Council of the
International Accounting Standards Board
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is the independent accounting standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation.
The IASB was founded on April 1, 2001, as the successor to the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). ...
(IASB)
The IAIS also participates as an observer or partner with numerous other organisations, including the Arab Union of Insurance Regulatory Commissions (AUIRC), Asian Forum of Insurance Regulators (AFIR), Association of Latin American Insurance Supervisors (ASSAL), Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP),
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA),
Financial Action Task Force (FATF),
International Actuarial Association (IAA), International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS),
Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB),
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Group of International Insurance Centre Supervisors (GIICS), the Insurance and Private Pensions Committee (IPPC) of the
Organisation for Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the G20/OECD Financial Consumer Protection Task Force.
The IAIS is also a founding partner of the Access to Insurance Initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership with the mission to inspire and support insurance supervisors to promote inclusive and responsible insurance.
Meetings and events
The IAIS holds Committee meetings three times a year, as well as subcommittee meetings as needed. At its June meetings, the IAIS hosts a Global Seminar offering insurance supervisors and stakeholders an opportunity to discuss current and globally significant matters impacting the insurance sector, as well as the IAIS’ most recent activities.
The IAIS also holds an Annual Conference which is open to supervisors and stakeholders to discuss topical issues and progress on IAIS activities. In conjunction with this conference, it convenes an Annual General Meeting of Members where it conducts official business.
Due to the Covid-19 crisis, all in-person meetings have been cancelled or replaced with virtual events through to the end of 2020.
Publications
The IAIS also regularly publishes supporting material in the form of Application Papers and Issues Papers. Recently published papers have covered a wide range of topics, including sustainability and
climate risk
Climate risk refers to risk assessments based on formal analysis of the consequences, likelihoods and responses to the impacts of climate change and how societal constraints shape adaptation options. Common approaches to risk assessment and risk ...
, corporate governance, fair treatment of customers, cyber risk and Fintech.
The IAIS financial stability activities are supported by an annual publication of the Global Insurance Market Report (GIMAR). The GIMAR contains a general description of developments in the global insurance sector as well as the outcome of the IAIS annual global monitoring exercise, i.e. the IAIS assessment of systemic risk in the global insurance sector. Finally, it includes the outcomes of an annual survey on the global reinsurance market.
The IAIS publishes a regular newsletter outlining recent and upcoming activities.
See also
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Insurance law Insurance law is the practice of law surrounding insurance, including insurance policies and claims. It can be broadly broken into three categories - regulation of the business of insurance; regulation of the content of insurance policies, especial ...
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Bank regulation
Bank regulation is a form of government regulation which subjects banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, designed to create market transparency between banking institutions and the individuals and corporations with whom they ...
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Financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handled ...
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Joint Forum
References
External links
IAIS Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:International Association Of Insurance Supervisors
Financial regulation
International finance institutions
Insurance industry organizations