INTRODUCTION 2

1. TEN YEARS OF SOLVENCY II EQUIVALENCE: FROM OBJECTIVES TO IMPLEMENTATION 6

 1.1. RATIONALE AND REGULATORY FUNCTIONS OF EQUIVALENCE 6

 1.2. HOW THE SOLVENCY II EQUIVALENCE FRAMEWORK WORKS 8

 1.3. TEN YEARS OF EQUIVALENCE DECISIONS 12

 1.4. HOW HAS EQUIVALENCE WORKED IN PRACTICE? 15

2. THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF SOLVENCY II EQUIVALENCE FOR THE EU 19

 2.1. ACCESS TO INTERNATIONAL RISK-BEARING CAPACITY 19

 2.2. RISK DIVERSIFICATION AND CLAIMS-PAYING CAPACITY 22

 2.3. COMPETITION, MARKET CONTESTABILITY AND EFFICIENCY 26

 2.4. INSURANCE’S CONTRIBUTION THROUGH INVESTMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND ITS MORE GENERAL ENABLING ROLE 27

3. THE FUTURE OF EQUIVALENCE IN A CHANGING EUROPEAN AND GLOBAL LANDSCAPE 32

 3.1. A CHANGING INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT 32

 3.2. REGULATORY RECOGNITION AND THE ALTERNATIVES 33

 3.3. EQUIVALENCE IN THE EU’S COMPETITIVENESS AND INVESTMENT AGENDA 35

 3.4. PRIORITIES FOR THE NEXT DECADE OF EQUIVALENCE 36

4. CONCLUSIONS: 10 YEARS OF SOLVENCY II EQUIVALENCE 38

REFERENCES 40