The much delayed Solvency II reforms came into effect across the European Union on 1st January 2016.

Solvency II is a fundamental reform of the capital adequacy regime for the European insurance industry. It aims to establish a revised set of EU-wide capital requirements and risk management standards to reduce systemic risk in the insurance industry and will replace an array of related Directives that have been introduced since 1973.  Although it governs all types of insurance businesses, the interest to the real estate industry lies primarily with the treatment of life insurance companies, and in particular the way in which they treat their investments.  The impact will potentially extend with the introduction of equivalent regulations for pension schemes in the form of the updated Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP) Directive.