Times are hard for longterm insurers. Battered by Stock Market falls, adverse publicity from industry crises such as mis-selling and the woes of Equitable Life and with the regulators’ increased attention on the with profits policy (one of the mainstays of the industry), many conclude that the days of the life insurer are numbered. Even the Financial Times (26 July 2002) has referred to the "prevailing atmosphere of fear" in the life sector.
SOLVENCY AND FINANCIAL STRENGTH
For both insurers and the FSA, the need to keep the business running within the solvency requirements is paramount. The World Trade Center attack and heavy falls in stock markets worldwide have already led to the relaxation of UK solvency requirements on at least two occasions in the last 12 months (the first on September 11 2001 and the second at the end of June 2002). Although such relaxation has helped, questions are being asked as to the value an insurer can put on intangible assets and the status of
