Insurance regulators and supervisors across Europe are increasingly looking to internal auditors to help their organisations achieve the necessary compliance requirements, according to a recent meeting of ECIIA’s insurance committee in Stockholm, Sweden.
While trends in supervision and regulation differ across Europe, many authorities are looking for insurers to strengthen their risk-based approach to compliance. Businesses are also expected to be more forward-looking in their risk analyses.
In some European jurisdictions, supervisory bodies are relying more on internal audit reports than in others. That has led to some regions considering tougher sanctions against internal audit functions if they fail to produce audit reports that are robust and accurate, and it emphasizes the need to define the relation between internal auditors and the supervisory bodies.
The committee identified emerging trends in artificial intelligence, business continuity, data science, IT security, liquid assets, money laundering and outsourcing.
“Clearly, internal auditors in the insurance sector have an increasingly important role to play in helping their organisations satisfy regulatory and supervisory requirements,” ECIIA insurance committee Hervé Gloaguen says. “Our committee is working on a publication that outlines these shifting priorities to keep our members up to date with recent developments.”
The insurance committee is meeting again in October in Madrid – a complete list of the volunteers on the group can be found here.