New rules governing Europe’s insurance industry are still needed despite the damage to investor confidence being caused by delays to their introduction, Standard & Poor’s said today.

The ratings agency issued a report considering the future of the Solvency II plans and based on comments made by S&P staff during a conference in Dublin last month. It noted that the existing regulatory system, Solvency I, was ‘virtually devoid’ of incentives for good risk management. It also lacks capital requirements for asset risk, it said.

This means Solvency II, which will place new capital requirements on insurers depending on the results of a risk-based assessment of their assets and liabilities, is ‘needed now’.

However, the long run-up to Solvency II is ‘reducing investor confidence’, the report warned, adding: ‘The regulatory uncertainty is raising insurers’ cost of capital and some are deferring strategic decisions.’

The rules were originally scheduled to be introduced in January 2014, but their implementation is now not expected until 2016 at the earliest. The timetable has been put back due to delays in reaching political agreement on the Omnibus II legislation which will underpin the new regulatory system.

In light of this, S&P welcomed the moves made by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority to ‘maintain the momentum’ behind the Solvency II project. In March, the regulator published a consultation on guidelines national regulators should use when introducing interim measures in areas such as governance and reporting.

It noted, however, that ‘further significant changes’ to Solvency II were likely to result from the work being undertaken by EIOPA to assess the impact that the new rules could have on long-term guarantees offered by insurers. The regulator is also looking at how the rules will affect long-term investments made by insurers in areas such as infrastructure.

These topics are ‘deeply intertwined with the prospects for the European economy,’ S&P said, which means ‘pragmatism is likely to prevail over principles’.

The report said: ‘The design of Solvency II was founded on the enthusiasm for market-consistent principles, at a time when market conditions were very different. Since then, the financial crisis has put the focus on the concept of risk-free discount rates.

‘The market-consistent foundation remains, but we see that pragmatism is likely to influence the final design, especially into assumptions regarding sovereign default, the grandfathering of liabilities, the illiquidity premium, the matching adjustment, yield curve extrapolation, among other things.’

March 2013

Many students entering the workforce today are unfamiliar with the role that executive recruiters play in filling open positions in the actuarial profession.

Actuarial recruiters are paid by their clients (employers of actuaries) to find qualified candidates for specific actuarial positions. Recruiters stay in regular touch with candidates to make them aware of any open actuarial positions that exist that match their skills and interests. Recruiters make the client aware of the appropriate candidates for their position, assuming that the candidate has granted permission to do so.

Recruiters provide candidates with assistance with the job search at all stages of the process. For example, should an interview situation arise, recruiters can provide the candidate with helpful interview tips and perhaps company information. In addition, recruiters can provide career-counselling advice and address any concerns candidates have, such as concerns about relocation and salary.

Our strength lies in our ability to successfully source individuals for roles that require specific insurance knowledge

Using an Actuarial Recruiter

Any candidate who is interested in making a career move with the assistance of a recruiter would first begin by discussing their interests and the types of positions that might be appealing to them. The candidate and the recruiter would discuss, location, compensation level, areas of expertise that the candidate has, and also let their recruiter know if they are utilizing any other recruiters to assist them in their search. (They would want to keep an organized list of which recruiters are submitting their resume and to where).

The candidate would forward their resume to the recruiter, who then would discuss the details of their resume with the candidate and make any appropriate/necessary changes. Also, any changes to the resume should be at the approval of the candidate. Professional recruiters would not submit a candidate’s resume without their prior approval. Upon the resume being approved by the candidate, the resume would be submitted to companies that they have an interest in. The recruiter will follow up for feedback on the candidate’s behalf and provide it (positive or negative), and then upon interest of the company arrange any interviews that would take place.

The recruiter will follow up with the candidate and the client regarding the interviews and relay information to both parties. If an offer should come at that point, the recruiter will work with the candidate to negotiate on their behalf and to provide a buffer between the client and the candidate, where issues may arise during negotiations.

Benefits of Using a Recruiter

A candidate can benefit from using a recruiter in many ways. Recruiters have an extensive knowledge base of the market and what is available, or, more importantly, what is potentially available. Since recruiters are looking at the job market everyday as well as building relationships with companies, they are very aware of the types of candidates that would be a good fit with a company, even if there is not a known position within that company. Since each time a recruiter places a candidate at a company they build a two-sided relationship, they end up having built bridge after bridge that each lead to a plethora of contacts. Having a third party who has a history with a company is a good way to present a resume to the company. If a recruiter has an exceptionally good history of presenting strong candidates to a company, that company is likely to listen to that same recruiter when presenting a candidate who falls short of what they would typically consider for a specific position or department.

Downsides to using a Recruiter

From a candidate’s standpoint, a downside to using a recruiter might be that the candidate doesn’t always feel he/she has “control” over the search process. This is why it is very important for a candidate and recruiter to develop a strong and trusting business relationship.

At the entry-level, there are some companies that may choose not to use recruiters because entry level candidates have modest skill sets.