scholarly journals A review of the risk margin – Solvency II and beyond

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Pelkiewicz ◽  
S. W. Ahmed ◽  
P. Fulcher ◽  
K. L. Johnson ◽  
S. M. Reynolds ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Of Capital ◽  
Working Party ◽  
Solvency Ii ◽  
Risk Margin ◽  
Life Insurers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract For life insurers in the United Kingdom (UK), the risk margin is one of the most controversial aspects of the Solvency II regime which came into force in 2016. The risk margin is the difference between the technical provisions and the best estimate liabilities. The technical provisions are intended to be market-consistent, and so are defined as the amount required to be paid to transfer the business to another undertaking. In practice, the technical provisions cannot be directly calculated, and so the risk margin must be determined using a proxy method; the method chosen for Solvency II is known as the cost-of-capital method. Following the implementation of Solvency II, the risk margin came under considerable criticism for being too large and too sensitive to interest rate movements. These criticisms are particularly valid for annuity business in the UK – such business is of great significance to the system for retirement provision. A further criticism is that mitigation of the impact of the risk margin has led to an increase in reinsurance of longevity risks, particularly to overseas reinsurers. This criticism has led to political interest, and the risk margin was a major element of the Treasury Committee inquiry into EU Insurance Regulation. The working party was set up in response to this criticism. Our brief is to consider both the overall purpose of the risk margin for life insurers and solutions to the current problems, having regard to the possibility of post-Brexit flexibility. We have concluded that a risk margin in some form is necessary, although its size depends on the level of security desired, and so is primarily a political question. We have reviewed possible alternatives to the current risk margin, both within the existing cost-of-capital methodology and considering a wide range of alternatives. We believe that requirements for the risk margin will depend on future circumstances, in particular relating to Brexit, and we have identified a number of possible changes to methodology which should be considered, depending on circumstances.

scholarly journals A review of Solvency II: Has it met its objectives?

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Rae ◽  
A. Barrett ◽  
D. Brooks ◽  
M. A. Chotai ◽  
A. J. Pelkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Financial Stability ◽  
Working Party ◽  
Solvency Ii ◽  
Capital Requirements ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Risk Margin ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Market Consistency

AbstractSolvency II is currently one of the most sophisticated insurance regulatory regimes in the world. It is built around the principles of market consistency and embedding strong risk management and governance within insurance companies. For business with long-term guarantees, the original basis produced outcomes that were unacceptable to the member states. The original design was amended through Omnibus II. The working party has looked back at the outcome of the final regulation and comments on how well Solvency II has fared, principally from a UK perspective, relative to its initial goals of improved consumer protection, harmonisation, effective risk management and financial stability. We review Pillar 1’s market consistent valuation (including the risk margin and transitional measures) as well as the capital requirements (including internal models). We look at the impact this has on asset and liability management, pro-cyclicality and product design. We look at Pillars 2 and 3 in respect of the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment, liquidity and disclosure. Finally, we stand back and look at harmonisation and the implications of Brexit. In summary we conclude that Solvency II represents a huge improvement over Solvency I although it has not fully achieved the goals it aspired to. There are acknowledged shortfalls and imperfections where adjustments to Solvency II are likely. There remain other concerns around pro-cyclicality, and the appropriateness of market consistency is still open to criticism. It is hoped that the paper and the discussion that goes with it provide an insight into where Solvency II has taken European Insurance regulation and the directions in which it could evolve.

scholarly journals The contribution of changes to tax and social security to stalled life expectancy trends in Scotland: a modelling study

2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-214770
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Richardson ◽  
Martin Taulbut ◽  
Mark Robinson ◽  
Andrew Pulford ◽  
Gerry McCartney
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Tax Credits ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group Sex ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Social Security Benefits ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Welfare Reforms ◽  
Detrimental Impact

BackgroundLife expectancy (LE) improvements have stalled, and UK tax and welfare ‘reforms’ have been proposed as a cause. We estimated the effects of tax and welfare reforms from 2010/2011 to 2021/2022 on LE and inequalities in LE in Scotland.MethodsWe applied a published estimate of the cumulative income impact of the reforms to the households within Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintiles. We estimated the impact on LE by applying a rate ratio for the impact of income on mortality rates (by age group, sex and SIMD quintile) and calculating the difference between inflation-only changes in benefits and the reforms.ResultsWe estimated that changes to household income resulting from the reforms would result in an additional 1041 (+3.7%) female deaths and 1013 (+3.8%) male deaths. These deaths represent an estimated reduction of female LE from 81.6 years to 81.2 years (−20 weeks), and male LE from 77.6 years to 77.2 years (−23 weeks). Cuts to benefits and tax credits were modelled to have the most detrimental impact on LE, and these were estimated to be most severe in the most deprived areas. The modelled impact on inequalities in LE was widening of the gap between the most and least deprived 20% of areas by a further 21 weeks for females and 23 weeks for males.InterpretationThis study provides further evidence that austerity, in the form of cuts to social security benefits, is likely to be an important cause of stalled LE across the UK.

scholarly journals Evaluating the efficacy of technical measures: a case study of selection device legislation in the UK Crangon crangon (brown shrimp) fishery

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom L. Catchpole ◽  
Andrew S. Revill ◽  
James Innes ◽  
Sean Pascoe
Keyword(s):  
Brown Shrimp ◽  
Crangon Crangon ◽  
Shrimp Fishery ◽  
The North ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Technical Measures

Abstract Catchpole, T. L., Revill, A. S., Innes, J., and Pascoe, S. 2008. Evaluating the efficacy of technical measures: a case study of selection device legislation in the UK Crangon crangon (brown shrimp) fishery. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 267–275. Bycatch reduction devices are being introduced into a wide range of fisheries, with shrimp and prawn fisheries particularly targeted owing to the heavy discarding common in these fisheries. Although studies are often undertaken to estimate the impact of a technical measure on the fishery before implementation, rarely have the impacts been assessed ex post. Here, the efficacy of the UK legislation pertaining to the use of sievenets in the North Sea Crangon crangon fishery is assessed. Three impacts were evaluated: on fisher behaviour (social), on the level of bycatch (biological), and on vessel profitability (economic). An apparent high level of compliance by skippers was identified despite a low level of enforcement. The estimated reduction in fleet productivity following the introduction of the legislation was 14%, equalling the mean loss of Crangon landings when using sievenets calculated from catch comparison trawls. Sievenets did reduce the unnecessary capture of unwanted marine organisms, but were least effective at reducing 0-group plaice, which make up the largest component of the bycatch. Clearly the legislation has had an effect in the desired direction, but it does not address sufficiently the bycatch issue in the Crangon fishery.

The EU as an “enforcement patchwork”: the impact of national enforcement for compliance with EU water law in Spain and Britain

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica García Quesada
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
National Level ◽  
State Level ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractFailures of compliance with European Union (EU) directives have revealed the EU as a political system capable of enacting laws in a wide range of different policy areas, but facing difficulties to ensure their actual implementation. Although the EU relies on national enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the EU legislation, there is scarce analysis of the differential deterrent effect of national enforcement in EU law compliance. This article examines the enforcement of an EU water directive, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, in Spain and the UK. It focuses on the existing national sanctions for disciplining actors in charge of complying with EU requirements, and on the actual use of punitive sanctions. The analysis shows that a more comprehensive and active disciplinary regime at the national level contributes to explain a higher degree of compliance with EU law. The article calls for a detailed examination of the national administrative and criminal sanction system for a more comprehensive understanding of the incentives and disincentives to comply with EU law at the national state level.

scholarly journals COVID-VU an ENT UK National Survey of Flexible Nasendoscopy in the Upper Aerodigestive Tract Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avgi Loizidou ◽  
Taranjit Singh Tatla ◽  
Ian Harvey ◽  
Miriayi Aibibula ◽  
Justin Roe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aerodigestive Tract ◽  
Upper Aerodigestive Tract ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
National Guidelines ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Window Opening ◽  
Operating Theatres ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundFlexible nasendoscopy (FNE) is an invaluable multi-disciplinary tool for upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) examination. During the COVID-19 pandemic concerns were raised that FNE had the potential of generating aerosols resulting in human cross-contamination when performed on SARS-COV2 carriers. In the UK, and other European countries, national guidelines were issued restricting FNE to essential cases. We surveyed ENT UK members and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) members to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (first peak) on FNE practice in the UK.MethodsAn observational internet-based survey constructed in accordance to the CHERRIES checklist and setup in SurveyMonkeyof FNE practice amongst UK-based ENT surgeons and speech and language therapists in community clinics, the outpatient department, inpatient wards, ICU, emergency department and operating theatres (through the NHS and private sector) prior to, during and following the first COVID-19 wave in the UK. Results 314 responses collected (24% response rate), 82% from ENT clinicians, 17% from SLTs and 1% from other allied healthcare professionals. Overall, there has been a large reduction in the volume and indications for FNE during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic with limited recovery by mid-August 2020. Cancer and airway assessments were impacted less. A wide range of FNE protocols influenced by local factors are reported, varying in endoscope preference, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and sterilization methods. Where dedicated Aerosol Generating Procedure (AGP) rooms were unavailable, clinicians resorted to window opening and variable room “down-time” between patients. Endoscope preference reflected availability and user familiarity, ENT trainees favoring the use of single-use video endoscopes. ConclusionDespite national guidance, local practice of FNE remains interrupted and highly variable in the UK. A collaborative inter-disciplinary approach is required to re-introduce FNE safely in volume across healthcare settings, re-establishing timely endoscopic diagnosis and pre-pandemic levels of patient care.

20. Freehold Covenants

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Bogusz ◽  
Roger Sexton
Keyword(s):  
Third Parties ◽  
Restrictive Covenants ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Explanatory Text ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Concept Building ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Primary Materials

Titles in the Complete series combine extracts from a wide range of primary materials with clear explanatory text to provide readers with a complete introductory resource. This chapter discusses the difference between restrictive and positive covenants; the rules which govern the running of the burden of covenants; the rules regulating who initially has the right to enforce a covenant; the significance of s56 of the Law of Property Act 1925, and the impact of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999; the rules regarding assignment of restrictive covenants; the concept ‘building scheme’; and whether a positive or restrictive covenant will pass to successors in title.

scholarly journals About this title - Geological Hazards in the UK: Their Occurrence, Monitoring and Mitigation – Engineering Group Working Party Report

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. NP-NP
Author(s):  
D. P. Giles ◽  
J. S. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Working Party ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Engineering Geologist ◽  
Geological Hazards ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
The Public ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Swelling And Shrinking

The UK is perhaps unique globally in that it presents the full spectrum of geological time, stratigraphy and associated lithologies within its boundaries. With this wide range of geological assemblages comes a wide range of geological hazards, whether they be geophysical (earthquakes, effects of volcanic eruptions, tsunami, landslides), geotechnical (collapsible, compressible, liquefiable, shearing, swelling and shrinking soils), geochemical (dissolution, radon and methane gas hazards) or georesource related (coal, chalk and other mineral extraction). An awareness of these hazards and the risks that they pose is a key requirement of the engineering geologist.The Geological Society considered that a Working Party Report would help to put the study and assessment of geohazards into the wider social context, helping the engineering geologist to better communicate the issues concerning geohazards in the UK to the client and the public. This volume sets out to define and explain these geohazards, to detail their detection, monitoring and management and to provide a basis for further research and understanding.

ASME Code-Case Proposal to Explicitly Quantify the Interaction Between the PWR Environment and Component Surface Finish

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Métais ◽  
Stéphan Courtin ◽  
Laurent De Baglion ◽  
Cédric Gourdin ◽  
Jean-Christophe Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Fatigue Life ◽  
Surface Finish ◽  
Polished Surface ◽  
Design Curve ◽  
Fatigue Design ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Asme Code ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Technical Basis

Fatigue rules from ASME have undergone a significant change over the past decade, especially with the inclusion of the effects of BWR and PWR environments on the fatigue life of components. The incorporation of the environmental effects into the calculations is performed via an environmental factor, Fen, which is introduced in ASME BPV code-case N-792 [5], and depends on factors such as the temperature, dissolved oxygen and strain rate. Nevertheless, a wide range of factors, such as surface finish, have a deleterious impact on fatigue life, but their contribution to fatigue life is typically taken through the transition factors to build the fatigue design curve [2] and not in an explicit way, such as the Fen factor. The testing supporting the rules pertaining to Environmental Fatigue Correction Factor (Fen) Method in ASME BPV was performed on specimens with a polished surface finish and on the basis that the Fen factor was applicable without alteration of the historical practice of building the design curve through transition factors. The extensive amount of testing conducted and reported in References [2] and [7] (technical basis for ASME BPV current EAF rules) was used to propose a set of transition coefficients from the mean air curve to the design curve on one hand, and on the other hand to build a Fen factor expression, defined as the difference between the life in air and in PWR environments. The work initiated by AREVA in 2005 [9] [10] [11] demonstrated that there is a clear interaction between the two aggravating effects of surface finish and PWR environment for fatigue damage, which was not experimentally tested in the References [2] and [7]. These results have clearly been supported by testing carried out independently in the UK by Rolls-Royce and AMEC FW [12]. These results are all the more relevant as most NPP components do not have a polished surface finish. Most surfaces are either industrially polished or installed as-manufactured. It was concluded that this proposal could potentially be applicable to a wide range of components and could be of interest to a wider community. EDF/Areva/CEA have therefore authored a code-case introducing the Fen-threshold, a factor which explicitly quantifies the interaction between PWR environment and surface finish. This paper summarizes this proposal and provides the technical background and experimental work to justify this proposal.

scholarly journals 4.K. Workshop: What is going on? New inequalities emerging from the COVID-19 syndemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Public Health Professionals ◽  
Measurement Framework ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Abstract   COVID-19 pandemic interacts with the pandemic of chronic non-communicable diseases and is exacerbated in different social and societal contexts through existing health inequalities - resulting in a syndemic. The socio-economically weakest groups of the population have been most affected (Bambra, 2020, Horton, 2020). In 2020, most activities were focused on controlling the epidemic through a biomedical approach, and only in the second half of the year, with the onset of the second wave, did the understanding that we are dealing with a syndemic, emerge in public health, societal and lately political discourse at the national and EU levels. There is increasing indirect damage to public health due to the loss of jobs and income, the long-term closure of certain activities, difficult access to health systems for those with non-COVID-19 health problems, and general uncertainty about the present and future. Different dimensions of syndemic inequalities (e.g. mental health, cognitive decline, lifestyles, gender, intergenerational) are the main focus of the workshop, including inequalities that were traditionally perceived in public health, as well as new emerging inequalities. In Slovenia we are conducting a study on the impact of the syndemic on people's lives (SI-PANDA 2020/2021), to (1) better understand human behaviour in COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to identify and address the impact of the governmental decisions, pandemic measures and recommendations. The workshop will aim to: Showcase the value of timely measurement and surveying of the COVID-19 syndemic's influences on society; Increase participants' understanding and awareness of the opportunities and challenges associated with different types of inequalities linked to COVID-19; Increase awareness of public health professionals on the importance of overcoming the difference between the biomedical approach and psychosocial paradigms; The workshop will offer an opportunity to: Present some of the outputs of the PANDA research and outline the influences of COVID-19 on lifestyle, mental health and cognitive changes Inform participants about the benefits of the comprehensive national approach in measuring COVID-19 syndemic consequences, embedded in a broader internationally comparative WHO measurement framework; Explore traditional inequalities with new dimensions, such as gender inequalities, newly emerging economic vulnerabilities and transformational inequalities, such as intergenerational inequality. Identify possible syndemic outcome measures at the national and EU levels, while identifying gaps between employing biomedical versus psychosocial approach in controlling conditions. Key messages Present new evidence on a wide range of inequalities emerging from the COVID-19 syndemic and its approach to mitigate it. Showcase an example from Slovenia (within the WHO internationally harmonized approach) of timely measuring the right data to inform a biomedical response as well as psychosocial measures.

scholarly journals Experimental and FE Study on Impact Strength of Toughened Glass–Retrospective Approach

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 7658
Author(s):  
Marcin Kozłowski ◽  
Kinga Zemła ◽  
Magda Kosmal ◽  
Ołeksij Kopyłow
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Peak Stress ◽  
Impact Loads ◽  
Toughened Glass ◽  
Load Duration ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Modelling Methodology ◽  
Glass Panels ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

Due to the high cost of experiments commonly performed to verify the resistance of glass elements to impact loads, numerical models are used as an alternative to physical testing. In these, accurate material parameters are crucial for a realistic prediction of the behaviour of glass panels subjected to impact loads. This applies in particular to the glass’s strength, which is strictly dependent on the strain rate. The article reports the results of an extensive experimental campaign, in which 185 simply supported toughened glass samples were subjected to hard-body impacts. The study covers a wide range of glass thicknesses (from 5 to 15 mm), and it aims to determine a critical drop height causing fracture of the glass. Moreover, a 3D numerical model of the experimental set-up was developed to reproduce the experiments numerically and retrospectively to determine the peak stress in glass that developed during the impact. Based on the results of numerical simulations, a load duration factor of 1.40 for toughened glass for impact loads is proposed. In addition, the paper includes a case study to demonstrate the use of the modelling methodology and results of the work on a practical example of an internal glass partition wall.

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