The Freedom of Provisions of Services is sometimes at odds with the specific features of national markets. Complex and long-term products require improved skills on the part of both the insurers providing the products and the supervisory authorities, with EIOPA’s support. The requisite convergence of supervisory practices needs to become a reality very soon. I know that EIOPA is making this a priority. Incidentally, the three-year review of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), is underway. Following a public consultation proposed by the European Commission, the draft legislation looks to strengthen the authorities’ and chiefly EIOPA’s role and powers without 5  calling into question the existing architecture. This should support the goal of increased convergence in supervisory practices, which should in turn promote improved effectiveness. Accordingly, the proposal represents a positive step forward for Europe. However, a close eye should be kept on the place given to national supervisors, especially regarding the question of internal models and supervisory colleges. They should remain within the national supervisors’ realm of competence, while EIOPA’s mediation role is essential and should be reinforced, especially with regard to cross-border issues. However, this is incompatible with assuming responsibility for validating national internal models. As for the EIOPA role on cross-border cases and its guidance for national supervisors that some Member States would favour, such exchanges could take place within dedicated coordination platforms. Beyond regulatory adaptation, the challenges ahead relate to technological and environmental changes, which are new and yet crucial matters for attention for insurers, regulators and supervisors.

Insurance players, of all sizes and risk exposures, are facing the digital revolution, which is inescapable as the developments in other business sectors such as travel, tourism or catering show. To remain competitive in terms of customer relationships, insurers will need to raise their customer experience to the highest levels. This will require them to fundamentally review their processes, tools and information systems. It also calls for an upgrade of their human resources policies. The risks associated with the digital revolution are numerous, but I would like to stress the bigger risk associated with procrastination. This risk seems particularly important to me and it will be an essential focus of attention for supervisors. The digital revolution has other ramifications that require the attention of supervisors. One of them is the increasing inclusion of insurance products within package deals. This is particularly the case for affinity insurance products. These often involve the multiplication of intermediaries in the value chain. This phenomenon can blur responsibilities and the intrinsic economic value of these products, and we are therefore vigilant as consumer protection is especially important in a strengthened European regulatory framework for product governance (via the Insurance Distribution Directive in particular). Another one is the access and use of data. To remain competitive in the customer relationship and risk management, access to data and the ability to efficiently use them will be essential. These developments will involve further cooperation between the personal data protection authorities and the insurance supervisory authorities.