IAIS opposes insurer levy

Yoshihiro Kawai, secretary general of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), said insurer must not be caught up in the clamp down on banks, City AM reports.

“In my view, it’s really unfair that insurance is included because the business model is so different, and it’s not the core insurance business which creates this kind of crisis,” Kawai said.

Insurers “play a stabilising role for the financial system rather than amplifying or originating system concerns. I feel very uncomfortable that the insurance business is being treated the same way as banking in terms of this levy.”

For the insurance sector, group-wide supervision is important to avoid regulatory gaps, he said.