Insurance Business (Phasing-in) Regulations, 2015

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 19,405, 8 ta’ April, 2015

L.N. 120 of 2015

INSURANCE BUSINESS ACT

(CAP. 403)

Insurance Business (Phasing-in) Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 64(7) of the

Insurance Business Act, the Minister of Finance, after consultation

with the Malta Financial Services Authority, has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Insurance Citation, scope

and

Business (Phasing-in) Regulations, 2015.

commencement.

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to implement

Article 308a of the Solvency II Directive and they shall be interpreted

and applied accordingly.

(3) These regulations shall be deemed to have come into force

on the 1st April 2015, other than regulation 4 which shall come into

force on the 1st July 2015.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires - Interpretation.

"the Act" means the Insurance Business Act;

"competent authority" means the Malta Financial Services

Authority established by the Malta Financial Services Authority Act; Cap. 330.

"the Solvency II Directive" means Directive 2009/138/EC of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the

taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance

(Solvency II) (recast), as amended from time to time, and includes

Directive 2014/51/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 16 April 2014 amending Directives 2003/71/EC and 2009/138/EC

and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009, (EU) No 1094/2010 and (EU)

No 1095/2010 in respect of the powers of the European Supervisory

Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority)

and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and

Markets Authority) (“Omnibus II”), any delegated acts and any

technical standards that have been or may be issued thereunder;

and the words and expressions which are used in these regulations

have the same meanings as in the Solvency II Directive.

As from 1st April 2015, for the purposes of the phasing-in Phasing-in

First Stage.

under the Solvency II Directive

(a)

the competent authority shall have the power to

decide on the approval of

(i)

ancillary own funds in accordance with

Article 90 of the Solvency II Directive;

(ii) the classification of own funds items referred

to in the third paragraph of Article 95 of the Solvency II

Directive;

(iii)

undertaking specific parameters in

accordance with Article 104(7) of the Solvency II

Directive;

(iv) a full or partial internal model in accordance

with Articles 112 and 113 of the Solvency II Directive;

(v) ancillary own funds of an intermediate

insurance holding company in accordance with Article

226(2) of the Solvency II Directive;

(vi) a group internal model in accordance with

Articles 230, 231 and 233(5) of the Solvency II Directive;

(vii) the use of the duration based equity-risk sub-

module in accordance with Article 304 of the Solvency II

Directive;

(viii) the use of the matching adjustment to the

relevant risk-free interest rate term structure in accordance

with Articles 77b and 77c of the Solvency II Directive;

(ix) the use of the transitional measure on the risk-

free interest rates in accordance with Article 308c of the

Solvency II Directive;

(x) the use of the transitional measure on

technical provisions in accordance with Article 308d of the

Solvency II Directive;

(b)

the competent authority shall have the power to

(i) determine the level and scope of group

supervision in accordance with Title III, Chapter I,

Sections 2 and 3 of the Solvency II Directive;

(ii) identify the group supervisor in accordance

with Article 247 of the Solvency II Directive; and

(iii) establish

a

college

of

supervisors

in

accordance with Article 248 of the Solvency II Directive.

As from 1st July 2015, for the purposes of the phasing-in Phasing-in

under the Solvency II Directive, the competent authority shall have Second Stage.

the power to

(a)

decide to deduct any participation in accordance

with the second sub-paragraph of Article 228 of the Solvency II

Directive;

(b) determine the choice of method to calculate group

solvency in accordance with Article 220 of the Solvency II

Directive;

(c)

make the determination on equivalence, where

appropriate, in accordance with Articles 227 and 260 of the

Solvency II Directive;

(d) permit authorised insurance and reinsurance

undertakings to be subject to Articles 238 and 239, in

accordance with Article 236 of the Solvency II Directive;

(e)

make the determinations referred to in Articles 262

and 263 of the Solvency II Directive; and

(f)

determine, where appropriate, the application of

transitional measures in accordance with Article 308b of the

Solvency II Directive.

The decisions taken by the competent authority on Applicability of

applications submitted by authorised insurance or reinsurance approvals

permissions.

undertakings for approval or permission in accordance with

regulations 3 and 4 shall not become applicable before 1st January

2016.

(1) For the better carrying out of the provisions of these Power of the

regulations, the competent authority may issue Insurance Rules for competent

authority to

the purpose of implementing the guidelines issued by the European issue

Rules.

Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority under Article 16 of

Regulation (EU) No. 1094/2010 of the European Parliament and of

the Council of the 24 November 2010 establishing a European

Supervisory Authority amending Decision No. 716/2009/EC and

repealing Commission Decision 2009/79/EC, for the phasing-in of

the Solvency II Directive.

(2) Such Insurance Rules may contain such incidental,

supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the

competent authority to be expedient for the purposes of these

regulations.

€0.18