LMG submit proposal for EU and UK to keep access to markets post-Brexit

The London Market Group (LMG) has published a detailed proposal for the UK government that would enable the EU and UK to maintain access to their insurance markets and control over their respective regulatory systems post-Brexit.

LMG said clients need uninterrupted access to London’s breadth of expertise and specialist risk capacity. They say the proposal will ensure that neither the EU nor UK will have to sacrifice market access or control over their respective regulatory regimes.

The LMG Brexit taskforce, representing the UK’s commercial insurers, reinsurers and brokers, has centred the proposal on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

This would allow mutual market access and recognition of both the EU and UK’s prudential regimes - with a Solvency II equivalence outcome built into it.

The proposal is a re-working of the bilateral agreement between the US and EU that came into force on 7 November for the reinsurance business. It allows EU and US reinsurers to operate in each other’s’ jurisdiction without the need for a local presence.

Malcolm Newman, managing director of SCOR’s EMEA Hub, chairman of the International Underwriting Association and sponsor of the LMG’s taskforce said: “Our proposal offers clear mutual benefits to clients on both sides of the Channel, and creates a workable solution that would mean that neither the EU nor the UK would have to sacrifice market access or control over their respective regulatory regimes

“We are all focused on ensuring continued access to the broad range of insurance services, expertise and capital that we offer to EU businesses. Our goal is to ensure that clients are not left in a situation where there is contractual uncertainty and protection gaps post Brexit.”