Supervisory statement on exclusions in insurance products related to risks arising from systemic events

As the frequency of systemic events increases, there is a risk that insurance products covering them become unaffordable or unavailable. At the same time, products covering such events or products silent about the coverage may explicitly exclude them in the future. These developments have the potential to further widen existing protection gaps, which can have a detrimental effect on consumers and make our economies and societies less resilient.

EIOPA’s supervisory statement aims to promote supervisory convergence in how national competent authorities assess the treatment of exclusions as part of the product design and terms and conditions drafting process. The statement seeks to ensure that the interests of existing and prospective policyholders are duly taken into account when products are developed or revised or when events casting doubt on the scope of the coverage materialise.