According to the Minister of Finance, setting up an IGS nationally does not make sense at the moment. This is evident from a letter sent to the House of Representatives yesterday. The Dutch Association of Insurers is pleased with this lobbying result.
The reaction means that the minister, like the Association, is not in favour of setting up a new IGS in the Netherlands in anticipation of possible European developments. An IGS is a guarantee scheme in the event that an insurer fails due to, for example, bankruptcy or a restart.
The main reason is that insurers' customers are already well protected under current regulations, such as the Solvency II supervisory framework and the Insurers Recovery and Resolution Act. In addition, a KPMG study commissioned by the ministry showed that an IGS in the Netherlands, although affordable for non-life insurance, is very expensive for life insurance: it can lead to 14% higher premiums. The extra protection that an IGS offers costs a lot of money and those extra costs ultimately end up on the customer's plate.
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