Call for Evidence

The Industry and Regulators Committee is launching an inquiry into commercial insurance and reinsurance regulation.

The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee is today launching an inquiry into the regulation of the London Market – the UK’s commercial insurance and reinsurance market. These markets, focused on commercial and wholesale speciality risks, are world-leaders and its services are some of the City of London’s major exports. The Committee will explore the extent to which regulatory policy is well-designed and proportionately applied and the possibilities for optimising policy following Brexit.

The inquiry will consider the roles of the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority and the appropriateness of regulation – the content of regulations as well as their implementation and application by regulators – relative to the risks posed by the London Market. The Committee will also assess the effects of regulation on customer interests and the market’s global competitiveness. The Committee will conduct a short inquiry, with a small number of public evidence sessions; written submissions should therefore serve as standalone items.

The Committee is seeking evidence on the following questions:

• Is the UK regulatory framework appropriate for the commercial insurance and reinsurance sectors?
• To what extent do the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority apply and interpret regulatory policy in these areas in a proportionate manner and strike the right balance between regulation and competitiveness?
• How do the activities of the UK’s financial regulators affect the ease of carrying out commercial insurance and reinsurance business in the UK? What impact does this have on the availability and cost of insurance cover in the UK?
• What is the status of the London Market’s global competitiveness, and how is this impacted by different regulatory approaches in other territories?
• What improvements could be made to the regulation of commercial insurance and reinsurance in a post-Brexit context?

You do not need to answer all these questions.

The deadline for written submissions is Friday 11 February 2022.

Guidance for making submissions

Short, concise submissions, of no more than six pages, are preferred. A longer submission should include a one-page summary. Paragraphs should be numbered. Submissions should be dated, with a note of the author’s name, and of whether the author is acting on an individual or corporate basis. All submissions made through the written submission form will be acknowledged automatically by email. NB This does not constitute formal acceptance of evidence by the Committee, which takes place when the Committee meets.

Personal contact details supplied to the Committee will be removed from submissions before publication but will be retained by the Committee staff for specific purposes relating to the Committee’s work, such as seeking additional information.

Submissions become the property of the Committee, which will decide whether to accept them as evidence. Evidence may be published by the Committee at any stage. It will normally appear on the Committee’s website and will be deposited in the Parliamentary Archives.

Once you have received notification that your submission has been accepted as evidence and published by the Committee, you may publicise or publish it yourself, but in doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the Committee. If you publish your evidence separately, you should be aware that you will be legally responsible for its content.

Diversity comes in many forms, and hearing from a range of different perspectives means that Committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of the issues under investigation to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

This is a public call for evidence. Please bring it to the attention of other groups and individuals who may wish to respond.

If you have any questions or require adjustments to enable you to respond, please email HLIndustryRegulators@parliament.uk