The march towards Solvency II equivalency seems to be losing pace outside the European Union, according to AM Best. In a global reinsurance market review published this month, the ratings agency said that discontent with U.S. insurance regulation had abated. "Regulators and reinsurers around the world have looked at Solvency II and found much highly detailed guidance attached to the ostensibly principles-based regime. By comparison U.S. regulation, while heavy on bureaucracy with the involvement of more than 50 regulators, looks relatively stable, predictable and accommodating to reinsurers," AM Best said. The report went on to suggest that, when measured against the perceived intrusiveness of Solvency II, some reinsurers might find the fragmented U.S. system a mere inconvenience. Although U.S. regulators have not dismissed Solvency II out of hand, the report pointed out that the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) had limited power to force all 50 states to
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