European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority eiopa.europa.eu

EIOPA sets EU-wide expectations for the supervision of private equity-backed insurers

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October 06, 2026 08:56 Announcement

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The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published today a supervisory statement on the authorization and ongoing supervision of private equity-related (re)insurance undertakings. The statement is addressed to national supervisors and aims to promote consistent, high-quality and risk-based supervision of private equity-backed undertakings across the Union.

Private equity (PE) firms have over the past decade shown a growing interest in acquiring and managing (re)insurance undertakings. While PE actors can bring potential benefits to the sector, their business strategies, ownership structures, asset allocations and governance arrangements can also pose challenges for effective supervision.

To support the appropriate supervision of PE-backed (re)insurers – both ahead of authorisation and on an ongoing basis thereafter – the supervisory statement highlights the key areas that supervisors should assess and closely monitor. These include:

Mismatching investment horizons – PE firms often have short investment horizons that may not match insurers’ long-term obligations to policyholders. Supervisors must ensure that capital is not extracted from the undertaking in the form of high distributions to shareholders or other short-term measures that would negatively affect the long-term viability of undertakings and ultimately put policyholders and beneficiaries at risk.

Complex financing and ownership structures: PE acquisitions often use significant debt and involve several entities and multiple holding companies, some of which may be located in countries with non-equivalent regulatory regimes. Unnecessarily complex ownership structures can impede regulatory oversight. Before authorising the acquisition, supervisors are therefore advised to scrutinise the entire financing structure, request justifications for each level of ownership and test business plans against adverse financial scenarios.

This is an extract. The publication continues at the source.

Source: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority.

Read the original at the source: https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/eiopa-sets-eu-wide-expectations-supervision-private-equity-backed-insurers-2026-10-06_en

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Organization: European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority — imported from official source
Official source: https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/node/4816/rss_en RSS
Imported: October 06, 2026 09:33
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Identity: https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/eiopa-sets-eu-wide-expectations-supervision-private-equity-...