The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has launched seven consultations today on policy instruments related to the implementation of the European Union’s Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD). Responding to the Directive’s requirements for EIOPA, today’s consultation papers propose draft guidelines and technical standards covering the scenarios and indicators to be used in pre-emptive recovery plans, the criteria for simplified obligations and the methodology for establishing the independence of valuers in the resolution process, among others.
The IRRD, which is set to become operational in January 2027, introduces a recovery and resolution framework tailor-made for (re)insurers in Europe. The Directive puts the focus on the importance of pre-emptive planning and effective crisis management and aims at maintaining the stability of Europe’s insurance sector while also allowing for the orderly wind-down of failing undertakings and groups. The IRRD will make insurance failures less likely and limit the impact of failures when they do happen, making the management of insurance failures more effective and cost-efficient.
Today’s consultations follow two previous sets of consultations on IRRD (see here and here) and complement those with draft Guidelines and Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on further aspects of the framework, as listed below.
Guidelines on scenarios
These Guidelines put forward a range of macroeconomic and financial stress scenarios to be used for assessing the credibility and feasibility of insurers’ pre-emptive recovery plans. The scenarios include both system-wide and insurance-specific stress events—such as mass policy lapses and underwriting losses—whose impact will be assessed on the solvency position, liquidity and profitability of the undertaking or group.
Guidelines on indicators
These Guidelines define the qualitative and quantitative indicators to be considered in pre-emptive recovery plans, including indicators related to capital and liquidity positions, asset quality, profitability, market conditions, macroeconomic conditions and operational events.
Guidelines on the provision of information
These Guidelines establish the rules regarding the use of exemptions to professional secrecy for confidential information, notably for cases where disclosures are made in summary or in collective form without allowing the identification of individual entities.
Guidelines on simplified obligations
These Guidelines outline eligibility criteria for simplified obligations. EIOPA further specifies factors like the nature of business, shareholding structure, legal form, risk profile, size, legal status, interconnectedness metrics as well as the scope and complexity of activities to be considered when assessing whether an undertaking or group is eligible for simplified obligations.
RTS on the independence of valuers
These RTS specify the conditions under which a candidate valuer is deemed to be independent from both the resolution authority and the entity under resolution and may perform the valuation of an entity’s assets and liabilities.
RTS on contractual recognition of resolution stay powers
These RTS establish standardized terms for financial contracts that would allow the resolution authority to exercise its stay powers (i.e. powers to suspend or restrict rights and obligations) over contracts governed by third-country law. The consistent recognition of such powers supports the cross-border enforceability of the resolution authority’s actions.
RTS on the valuation of liabilities from derivatives
These RTS specify methodologies and principles for the valuation of liabilities arising from derivatives in the resolution process.
In developing the draft policy instruments, EIOPA has worked to align processes and methodologies with established practices in the financial sector to ensure consistency, while also incorporating insurance-specific elements where needed. All proposed policy instruments are designed to prevent unnecessary complexity and to avoid placing undue burdens on entities and resolution authorities.
Responding to the Consultation
EIOPA invites stakeholders to provide their feedback on the consultation papers by responding to the questions via the online surveys no later than 20 March 2026. All responses will be published on EIOPA’s website unless otherwise requested.
Next steps
EIOPA will reflect on the feedback received during the consultation before finalizing the policy instruments.
Details
- Publication date
- 9 December 2025