UK plans to make insurance executives more accountable

* BoE says no reversal of "burden of proof" at insurers

* Industry reassured won't be treated like banks (Adds industry comment, background)

By Huw Jones

Chief executives and other senior officials at insurance companies in Britain will be made more directly accountable to regulators for their decisions under plans announced by the Bank of England on Wednesday.

The plans follow those the Bank's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has already drawn up for senior bankers, although they are less demanding in some respects.

Under the proposals, insurers will have to allocate specific responsibility for developing and embedding the culture of their firms to one or more senior managers. The watchdog also plans to introduce new conduct standards for these managers.

"Policyholders are best served by insurance companies with senior managers who can be held to account and who are individually responsible for the decisions they make," PRA chief executive and BoE Deputy Governor Andrew Bailey said.

Regulators have come under fire from lawmakers for bringing so few bankers to book after lenders had to be bailed out by taxpayers in the 2007-09 financial crisis.

Under the so-called "reversal of burden of proof" proposals for banks, top managers would have to prove to regulators they were unaware of or had challenged dubious behaviour at the time.

This has alarmed bankers, with two directors of HSBC set to leave the bank because they are unhappy with the new rules, Reuters reported last month.

The plans for insurers are slightly different, recognising the differences between the industries, the PRA said.

Regulators would have to show misconduct by an insurance official was deliberate or that behaviour fell below reasonable standards. The sanctions that could be imposed against insurance officials are also in line with those already available, such as fines, bans and public warnings.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI), an industry body, said it was reassured the plans recognised the differences between banks and insurers.

"We will be working with our members... to ensure that the regime is fit for purpose and ensures a continuing flow of high level talent into the insurance industry," it said.

The new regime for insurers such as Prudential and Aviva will apply to chief executives, chief finance officers, chief risk officers, heads of internal audit and chief actuaries.

At the Lloyd's of London insurance market, it will apply to chief underwriting officers and underwriting risk oversight functions.

A public consultation will run until Feb. 2 and the new rules will be rolled out from late 2015.

The watchdog will also publish a further consultation on how non-executive directors at insurance and banking firms will come under the new accountability rules. (Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)




Source: Reuters