The Reinsurance Directive - Creating A Level Playing Field?

Historically, there has been no common regulation of reinsurance in the European Union (the "EU"), and Member States applied their own rules in relation to the conduct of reinsurance business. At one extreme, Belgium and Greece, for example, chose not to regulate reinsurers at all. At the other, in Member States including Denmark, Finland, Portugal and the UK, reinsurers have been regulated on essentially the same basis as primary insurers (save for those insuring consumers) for years.

However, a new EU system of regulation has been introduced under the Reinsurance Directive (the "Directive") in order to remedy this lack of common regulation. The Directive was approved by the European Parliament in June 2005, adopted by the Council in October 2005, and must be implemented by each Member State into its national law by 10 December 2007.