Global Financial Watchdog Targets Insurers with Emergency Plans

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published an updated global list of insurance companies required to submit resolution plans, bringing the total to seventeen, an increase of four compared to last year. The latest additions include three Swiss insurers and Dutch firm Athora.

Resolution plans are designed to better prepare insurers and regulators for potential emergencies or collapses, ensuring that any sudden financial distress can be managed efficiently without triggering a broader market crisis. These plans are part of a global effort to safeguard financial stability and prevent systemic risks.

The concept of resolution planning for insurers emerged after the 2007–09 global financial crisis. Policymakers and the FSB advocated creating a regime similar to that applied to banks, enabling authorities to identify and contain risks at an early stage. Initially, the insurance sector resisted, arguing that contagion risks were significantly lower than in the banking sector, and that such regulations might be unnecessarily burdensome.

In 2022, the FSB decided to discontinue its annual identification of global systemically important insurers. However, from 2024 onwards, the FSB adopted a new approach: publishing a list of insurance firms required to submit resolution plans. This list aims to ensure that these companies are structurally prepared to act swiftly in times of financial stress, reducing the risk of systemic disruptions.

The UK leads the list, with five insurers included, followed by Switzerland and the Netherlands. This reflects a heightened focus on the preparedness of major insurance providers to maintain market stability in crisis situations.

FSB Resolution Plan List (2025)

Being on the FSB resolution plan list signals that an insurer is under close regulatory scrutiny and must maintain robust emergency preparedness strategies. Regulators will now closely monitor these companies to ensure they can respond decisively to any financial shock, reinforcing global financial resilience.