PwC heralds Solvency II breakthrough

PricewaterhouseCoopers has welcomed the European Parliament's adoption of the Solvency II directive, as another major milestone passed on the way to implementation in 2012.

"We now look forward to the European Council doing likewise in early May," PwC said.

Mark Batten, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said: "With the framework directive soon to be in place, any doubts about implementation have been dispelled. We will now move swiftly onto the detailed requirements of Level 2 and 3. The devil will inevitably be in these details and companies need to follow the work of CEIOPS in this area closely, and contribute where appropriate, to make sure that their implementation plans stay on track. Concerns about a delay in the timetable have proved unfounded with the tight 2012 deadline still in place."

He added: “Robust plans need to be established as soon as practical to meet this deadline and these plans also need to be sufficiently flexible to anticipate and adjust for the detailed measures to follow.

"There is still a good deal of work remaining, including another QIS exercise, probably next year. But the good news is we now have a clear framework and a clear path to the finishing line."