Regulation:IAIS releases Strategic Plan for 2025-2029

The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) has published its five-year Strategic Plan for 2025-2029 which articulates the core objectives of the IAIS, identifies a set of strategic themes, and outlines the operational priorities of the IAIS.

Highlights of the Strategic Plan include:

• Heightened emphasis on globally consistent implementation of the IAIS standards by assessing implementation across jurisdictions and supporting members’ efforts on supervisory practices.

• Continued refinement of the IAIS’s data-driven risk assessment to key risks and trends impacting the global insurance sector.

• Support for IAIS members in addressing trends and challenges that have the potential to significantly impact (or even reshape) the insurance sector, related to climate change, digital innovation including the use of AI and cyber risks, and the need for insurance to deliver on its societal purpose of building resilience.

• Commitment to continuous improvement in how the IAIS operates, with a focus on deriving strength from our differences, operating sustainably, strengthening engagement and implementing efficiencies.

2025 – 2029 Insurance landscape

IAIS says that some examples of emerged, emerging and possible future trends expected to shape the insurance landscape through 2025 – 2029 include:

• Ongoing geopolitical and economic volatility may feature prominently in the coming five years. The role of supervisors in supporting fair, safe and stable insurance markets and supporting financial stability of the insurance sector will be paramount as insurers tackle key risks including interest rate, credit and liquidity risks. Insurers’ business models, asset allocations and liabilities are undergoing structural shifts, which the IAIS will continue to monitor going forward.

• Emerging markets and developing economy (EMDE) jurisdictions will continue to drive global economic activity but will remain vulnerable to a range of risks. Efforts to increase resilience will become more critical as these economies grow and exposures increase.

• Climate change will drive new risks and opportunities for the insurance sector. Supervisors can play an important role in identifying, monitoring, assessing, and contributing to the mitigation of risks from climate change to the insurance sector, and in supporting the insurance sector to play its critical role in advancing the transition to a net zero economy and to strengthened societal resilience to climate change impacts.

• Digital innovation will create opportunities and challenges for the financial system, including the insurance sector. Supervisors will have an important role in maintaining a balance between supporting innovation and ensuring fair and responsible deployment of technology.

These are all global challenges, which demand a global response. As the global standard-setting body for insurance supervision, with over 200 member jurisdictions, the IAIS is uniquely placed to support its membership to tackle emerging trends and challenges.

The IAIS does this through fulfilling a number of core objectives that are:

Core objectives

1. The IAIS monitors and responds to key risks and trends in the global insurance sector;

2. The IAIS sets and maintains globally recognised standards for supervision that are effective and proportionate;

3. The IAIS supports its members by sharing good supervisory practices, promoting understanding of supervisory issues and facilitating supervisory capacity building; and

4. The IAIS assesses comprehensive and globally consistent implementation of its global standards.

Strategic themes

For the coming five-year period, the IAIS has identified three broad, cross-cutting strategic themes for its work programme. They are:

1. Strengthening supervisory response to climate change;

2. Adapting to increasing digital innovation and cyber risks; and

3. Supporting insurance to serve its societal purpose of building resilience.

Operational priorities

Through 2025 – 2029, IAIS operations will be guided by four operational priorities:

1. Derive strength from differences, particularly by respecting diversity of thought and prioritising inclusiveness;

2. Operate sustainably and with sensitivity to our environmental impact;

3. Strengthen engagement with members and stakeholders in ways that create benefits for them and for the IAIS; and

4. Implement efficiencies that enable IAIS to focus on what matters most and yield impact.

The IAIS anticipates that leveraging technology will be an important enabler to achieve these operational priorities.