Capital management in a Solvency II world: A non-life perspective

There has been a growing trend recently amongst insurance and reinsurance undertakings towards placing greater focus on capital management. The financial crisis has shown that undertakings cannot assume that capital will be readily available as and when it is needed and, even if it is available, it may not be accessible at the right price. Solvency II will change the way insurance and reinsurance undertakings determine their regulatory capital requirements, as well as introduce new rules with regard to what forms of capital can be used to meet those requirements. As a result, Solvency II will bring about both challenges and opportunities for undertakings. This paper aims to address some of the key issues for insurers and reinsurers with regard to capital management in a Solvency II world.