European union regulation of insurance industry in the aftermath of the financial crisis

At the time of writing of this article we have reached the tenth anniversary of the peak of the financial crisis of 2007 to 2008. The 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath provide the backdrop to regulatory actions in the field of insurance. The article aims to examine the institutional and regulatory actions enacted at European Union (EU) level following the crisis which impacted upon the European insurance industry. Regulatory action was enacted in the EU mainly with the adoption of over forty pieces of financial service legislation from 2008 to 2018, most of which help to channel regulation towards a more centralized regime at an EU level. Hand in hand with the strengthening of the regulatory frameworks of financial services, the EU started focusing on the conduct of business rules under the premise of consumer protection. Finally, the article cannot omit upcoming Brexit as impacts on the insurance industry are inevitable, in particular, as the City of London used to be a financial hub for the whole Europe.