JMR UK Consultancy Ltd

Archive for May, 2011

The Net-Work Meeting in Paris

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

On the 9th and 10th of June, representatives from JMR Consulting UK Limited will be attending The -Net-Work meeting at the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

The event, sponsored by Pacific Life RE and PartnerRe will include presentations on:

  • Corporate Governance in the UK and the implications of being a non-executive director – Paul Bradshaw
  • Innovation in Insurance, a 10 year perspective – Alan Newman, FITN
  • Using technology to drive new business models – Ian McKenna, F&TRC
  • A new approach to assessing risk – Dr. Paul Jenkins, European Scanning Centre
  • Major trends in Europeans life assurance – Christian Mounis, Transamerica Reinsurance Europe
  • The things that keep UK CEOs away at night – Otto Thoresen, Director General, ABI

The-Net-Work was formed in 2001 by Peter Le Beau. He felt there should be an opportunity for people to meet informally and discuss the major strategic issues affecting the life insurance world. The inaugural meeting was held in May 2001 and it has grown to become one of the most respected strategic forums in the Life industry.

Key to the success of The-Net-Work is the mix of members, quality of speakers and the fact that it is held under Chatham House rules. There will also be plenty of opportunity for both discussions following each of the presentations and networking and the events always combine serious discussion with enjoyable informality and networking.

“I have been attending the Net-Work events for many years and find that they are an excellent way of keeping me informed and up-to-date with the issues and challenges faced by the Life Insurance industry as well as the latest thinking and innovations,” says Kali Bagary, Managing Director, JMR Consulting UK Limited.

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Solvency II – Don’t be late!

Monday, May 30th, 2011

Solvency II in less than 500 words!

Compliance with the new Solvency II regulatory scheme is certainly exercising the minds and the budgets of all insurance businesses in the UK and in Europe.  We have regularly updated this blog with guidance on how best to structure your Solvency ii Programme with a series of blog posts and we hope, helpful guides. At a recent conference I was asked to summarise the Solvency II challenge in less than 500 words, so here we go….

Solvency II is a fundamental review of the capital adequacy regime for the European insurance industry. The fundamental purpose of this legislation is to protect policyholders and prevent a financial crisis in the European insurance industry by requiring insurers to implement prudent economic risk management practices.

Solvency II replaces the current prudential regulation (i.e., Solvency I) with risk based capital requirements based on the economic value of the total balance sheet. This will ensure financial soundness of insurance companies to not only protect policyholders’ interests but also increase competition in the EU insurance market.

In addition, Solvency II also should make it easier for insurance companies to do business across the EU as the wide variety of local standards will be replaced by a more harmonised regime. All insurers conducting business in the EU must comply with this legislation. Compliance with Solvency II requires a structured three-pillar approach to risk management:

Pillar I – Solvency II Quantitative Requirements

How much capital should an insurer hold? Solvency II provides guidelines to determine the Solvency Capital Requirements (SCR) and Minimum Capital Requirements (MCR). Insurers can base these calculations on either the EU standard model approach or their own internal models that will have to be approved by their regulators.

Pillar II – Solvency II Qualitative Requirements

Pillar II establishes requirements regarding the governance and risk management of insurers, as well as for their effective supervision. Insurance companies must proactively manage and integrate the risks determined under Pillar I into their operational processes.

Pillar III – Solvency II Disclosure & Transparency

Pillar III deals with the manner in which insurers report risks to regulators, policyholders and rating agencies. All insurers will be required to publish an annual report on their solvency and financial conditions.

Solvency II Services from JMR Consulting UK Ltd

So there you have a very brief description of Solvency II in less than 500 words – mission accomplished! Our services are backed by a long track record of delivering for the insurance sector on time and in budget. And you benefit from the combination of an externally audited programme of governance and lower rates than you’ll find with traditional consultancy.

To find out more about how JMR Consulting UK Ltd can provide a safe pair of hands for your Solvency II programme, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email to info@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.

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JMR Consulting UK at the Protection Review 2011

Monday, May 23rd, 2011

The 2011 Protection Review conference and gala dinner will take place on Thursday 23rd June 2011 at the Landmark Hotel in London.

JMR Consulting UK Limited (JMR) is both attending and supporting the conference and has sponsored a table at the gala dinner. The evening starts with networking and drinks followed by an award ceremony at 7 pm and later in the evening we will hear from this year’s after dinner speaker Dame Carol who is first National Director for Health and Work and has a distinguished medical career. She is one of the leading authorities on health and welfare in this country and we are eagerly anticipating what she has to say to our industry.

Kali Bagary, Managing Director of JMR has attended the event for many years and says, “We have been involved in The Protection Review for many years and generally sponsor a table at the dinner. It is a good event to catch up with people I have known for many years and the key movers and shakers in the protection industry. At a time when many look for reasons to complain, the award ceremony is a great way of recognising the achievements of companies and individuals in the industry.”

The Protection Review is the definitive review of the UK’s multi-billion pound health and protection insurance industry. It was established in 2003 by its then co-directors Peter Le Beau and Andy Couchman. In 2010 Kevin Carr joined as chief executive. However, since 2007, The Protection Review Conference has become acknowledged as the outstanding strategic and technical event in the health and protection insurance calendar.

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Solvency II Implementation Programme – Part Four

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

Solvency II Implementation Programme – Final Part

This is the final post in a series of four post on how to structure a Solvency II implementation programme.

Solvency II Own Risk & Solvency Assessment (ORSA)

The Solvency II ORSA can be defined as the “entirety of the processes and procedures employed to identify, assess, control, manage, and report the short and long term risks that the insurance company faces or may face and to determine the funds necessary to ensure that the undertaking’s overall capital needs (solvency and economic) are met at all times.” It should cover the following:

  • The design, documentation and embedding of a process that will ensure the ORSA is an integral part of business strategy and used as a basis for strategic decision-making
  • The development of a report that communicates effective risk management to the Board, the regulator and other external stakeholders where appropriate

Solvency II Business Impact

This will deliver the key changes required to ensure the risk and capital management framework is embedded across the business:

  • Development of risk dashboards, based on key risk indicators, to ensure that risks are embedded into committees and boards
  • Reviewing and promoting the use of the internal model to support business decisions
  • Embedding a more risk aware culture

Solvency II Communication Planning

Effective communication to all parties at the right time is very difficult to do but in order to keep all parts of the organisation up to date with programme progress, plans and issues etc, it is important to communicate effectively. This project will deliver a multi-channelled communication programme to inform all internal and external stakeholders about Solvency II. It will cover the following through a number of workstreams:

  • Development of a communication and awareness plan which includes identification of the communication objectives, key messages and target audiences
  • Plan and delivery of a coordinated communications mix, including evaluation of communication effectiveness.

Solvency II Services from JMR Consulting Uk Ltd

Recognising the need for collaboration early on we founded the Gain-Line partnership to pool our expertise with other companies with SII experience and expertise.

Our services are backed by a long track record of delivering for the insurance sector on time and in budget. And you benefit from the combination of an externally audited programme of governance and lower rates than you’ll find with traditional consultancy.

To find out more about how JMR Consulting UK Ltd and Magellan Consultancy Services working together can provide a safe pair of hands for your Solvency II programme, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email to info@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.

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Solvency II Implementation Programme – Part Three

Sunday, May 15th, 2011

Solvency II Implementation Programme

This is the third in a series of four posts covering the main areas that insurance companies should cover as part of their implementation of their Solvency II implementation programme. Part One covered the overall structure of a Solvency II implementation programme.  Part Two described the Solvency II Implementation for specific projects to cover overall Solvency II Strategy, Risk Strategy and Governance Statutory in more detail.  Here we cover

Solvency II Reporting

Solvency II Reporting delivers the key changes required to ensure that Solvency II reporting requirements can be efficiently delivered. It should cover the following through a number of separately identified work streams:

  • Reviewing the balance sheet and P&L reporting requirements to identify areas where developments are required and implementing the required changes
  • Reviewing additional risk and capital reporting requirements to identify areas where developments are required and implementing the required changes

Solvency II Internal Model

The Solvency II Internal Model delivers the key changes required to develop an internal model to the level that will be approved by regulators. This should be divided into:

  • Refining the current risk management framework, including the risk identification process and internal control framework
  • Increasing the current risk assessment capability, in particular in the areas of stress and scenario testing and operational risk (including internal and external loss data)
  • Refining the capital model to meet the Solvency II requirements
  • Ensuring that key inputs and outputs into the model are aligned to the Solvency II internal model tests

Solvency II Services

Recognising the need for collaboration early on we founded the Gain-Line partnership to pool our expertise with other companies with SII experience and expertise.

Our services are backed by a long track record of delivering for the insurance sector on time and in budget. And you benefit from the combination of an externally audited programme of governance and lower rates than you’ll find with traditional consultancy.

To find out more about how JMR Consulting UK Ltd and Magellan Consultancy Services working together can provide a safe pair of hands for your Solvency II programme, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email to info@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.

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Solvency II Implementation Programme – Part Two

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

Solvency II Programme

In Part One of this series of blog posts on Solvency II implementation, we described the oveall format that a Solvency II implementation project needs to include.  We are not going to discuss in detail the main elements of project and programme management but focus on highlighting the main areas that need to be covered off as part of a Solvency II programme of work

Solvency II is a Regulatory Driven Initiative

The regulatory elements of Solvency ll mean that implementation is driven by a number of dates that have already been ‘pre-defined’ by the regulators in order to achieve internal model approval and participate in the first dry run.

Solvency II Implementation strategy

All main programmes of work need an overall implementation strategy. For a Solvency II Programme we need an implementation strategy to provide the framework and controls to cover the overall implementation strategy for the programme:

  • Reviewing guidance and requirements and maintaining gap analysis against  requirements
  • Producing pre-application and shadow application submissions
  • Liaising with stakeholders (Internal Insurance company, regulators and rating agencies)
  • External quality assurance

Solvency II Programme Governance

The Solvency II programme governance needs to be established to deliver the key changes required in relation to governance. It will cover:

  • Reviewing particular aspects of corporate governance affected by Solvency II, in particular, any Solvency II committee terms of reference to ensure that responsibilities in relation to Solvency II
  • The remuneration policy to ensure it reflects best practice and recently published guidance
  • Reviewing the existing risk governance framework and clarifying any changes to the framework currently documented, including the governance process around the internal model
  • Reviewing and clarifying the roles of departments as a result of the changes being implemented in relation to Solvency II

Solvency II Programme Risk Strategy

The Solvency II risk strategy needs to be developed and agreed early in the programme.  This will form a key deliverable and will deliver the key changes required in relation to risk strategy through:

  • Reviewing and updating the set of risk policies so that they reflect the business risk strategy and profile
  • Defining and documenting board approved risk appetite, which is in turn broken down into a set of risk limits against which risk can be monitored via dashboards.

Next week we will continue to develop the theme of the major project streams that need to be included within an overall Solvency II programme.

Solvency II Services

Recognising the need for collaboration early on we founded the Gain-Line partnership to pool our expertise with other companies with SII experience and expertise.

Our services are backed by a long track record of delivering for the insurance sector on time and in budget. And you benefit from the combination of an externally audited programme of governance and lower rates than you’ll find with traditional consultancy.

To find out more about how JMR Consulting UK Ltd and Magellan Consultancy Services working together can provide a safe pair of hands for your Solvency II programme, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email toinfo@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.

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Solvency II Implementation Programme – Part One

Sunday, May 1st, 2011

What a Solvency II Programme Should Include

A Solvency II implementation programme is a complex undertaking and should be structured with a good programme management structure and disciplines. Because Solvency II is mainly a regulatory initiative, the regulatory elements of Solvency ll mean that implementation is driven by a number of dates that have already been ‘pre-defined’ by the regulators in order to achieve internal model approval and participate in the first dry run.

Solvency II Implementation strategy

Every business is different and so is every insurance business. However, the Solvency II implementation programme should be structured to cover the following programme streams indicated below. Each of these Solvency II programme streams should be structured as an individual project within the overall Solvency II programme structure.

  • Solvency II implementation strategy to provide the framework and controls to cover the overall implementation strategy for the programme
  • Governance to deliver the key changes required in relation to governance.
  • Risk Strategy to deliver the key changes required in relation to risk strategy
  • Statutory Reporting to deliver the key changes required to ensure that Solvency II reporting requirements can be efficiently delivered.
  • Internal Model to deliver the key changes required to develop an internal model to the level that will be approved by regulators.
  • ORSA to deliver the design, documentation and embedding of a process that will ensure the ORSA is an integral part of business strategy and used as a basis for strategic decision-making
  • Business Impact to deliver the key changes required to ensure the risk and capital management framework is embedded across the business
  • Communication Plan to deliver a multi-channelled communication programme to inform all internal and external stakeholders about Solvency II.

As part of our weekly blog posts we will cover each of these project streams in more detail, so check back here for a weekly update.

Solvency II Services

Recognising the need for collaboration early on we founded the Gain-Line partnership to pool our expertise with other companies with SII experience and expertise.

Our services are backed by a long track record of delivering for the insurance sector on time and in budget. And you benefit from the combination of an externally audited programme of governance and lower rates than you’ll find with traditional consultancy.

To find out more about how JMR Consulting UK Ltd and Magellan Consultancy Services working together can provide a safe pair of hands for your Solvency II programme, please get in touch by using the contact form, sending an email to info@jmruk.com or calling us on 0845 052 0900.

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