The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) on Friday published the final version of the 2016 Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) guideline for life insurance companies. The updated rules, which take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, make a number of changes to insurer’s capital requirements that aim to improve regulatory transparency.
The revised guideline incorporates OSFI advisories on the capital rules, in order to enhance transparency. It also deals with the capital treatment of subsidiaries that write both life insurance and P&C business, and the application of certain credit risk factors.
“Increased transparency, as well as consistent and comparable reporting of capital requirements for all regulated life insurers, whether they are holding or operating companies, can complement OSFI’s supervisory efforts,” the federal financial services regulator says in a statement.
The capital rules are reviewed annually to ensure that they remain responsive to emerging issues. A draft of the proposed revisions was published back in July.