Advocacy and lobbying

To succeed in a competitive global and national marketplace, insurance companies must address regulatory, legislative, and international standard issues that are likely to affect their business capacities. While most European companies have their own national lobbying channels, ACME is the only EU trade association which effectively monitors policy and regulatory developments affecting mutual and cooperative insurance societies. Through its representation office in Brussels, ACME advocates and lobbies EU regulatory and policy-makers, as well as leverages the collective influence of its fifty-two members in the process.

To achieve its goals, ACME regularly participates in meetings, conferences, and events organised by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS), and advises them on all questions of interest to cooperative and mutual insurers. Through its observer status in the EFRAG, OECD, and IAIS (through ICMIF), it ensures that the cooperative and mutual insurance perspective is heard and better understood.

Over the past two years, ACME has been particularly active to represent the interests of its members in the EU Solvency II project, which aims to build a more efficient EU insurance capital requirement framework by 2007. This issue is being discussed by insurance supervisors around the world at the European Union, Latin and North Americas, Asia, and Australia. The impact of discussions on insurance companies is considerable.

ACME also actively lobbies for the adoption of a European mutual society statute. This should enable mutual insurance societies to benefit from a level playing-field with joint-stock and cooperative companies, and support both their national and international growth and development in the Solvency II context.

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is currently working on two International Financial Accounting Standards affecting business combinations (IFRS3) and insurance contracts (IFRS 4) which will significantly affect insurance companies worldwide. An ICMIF working group is being set up to take positions and lobby on published documents.

Intelligence gathering and networking

Through its committee structure, ACME provides topical opportunities for cooperative and mutual insurance specialist to meet and learn from each other not only about latest EU developments but also business practices, statistics, national policy, and legislation trends on a regular basis.

The joint ACME-AISAM Solvency II Working Party holds nearly monthly meetings with over twenty participants and participates in the European Commission’s calls for advice to CEIOPS with several joint position papers. As a result, understanding and support for the views and expectations of cooperative and mutual insurers have progressed significantly both within the European Commission and CEIOPS. ACME plays a key role in encouraging its members to participate in the Solvency II project and to make their voice heard via their responses to the Quantitative Impact Surveys launched by CEIOPS and through input to any further calls for advice from the European Commission.

Its EU Advisory Group meets on a quarterly basis. It advises the Board on annual priorities and provides the Secretariat with the elements necessary to the elaboration of statements, position papers, or press releases on agreed subjects. Members support ACME positions at domestic level, through contacts with national authorities and other stakeholders.

Biennal conference

The ACME biennal conference is a unique event in the industry calendar, bringing together all European cooperative and mutual insurers and their EU policy-makers for a two-day experience of EU learning, experience exchanges, and social gatherings.

The 2006 Congress will focus on the theme “Capitalising on Mutuality” and will be held in the nice little town of Bruges in Belgium from 18 to 20 October 2006. It is for the first time organised jointly with AISAM and is expected to be attended by some 200 participants.

The full programme is available on this web site under “Forthcoming events” and on a newly created joint web site: www.insurance-mutuals.org. The presence of speakers such as European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, CEIOPS’ Pillar I Chair Paul Sharma and Pervenche Berès, Chairwoman of the influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament underlines the increased visibility the sector has achieved over the past two years.