Insurance Europe says EU rules for insurers kept multiplying after the Commission's pledge to cut reporting by 25%

The European insurance and reinsurance federation published "Cumulative regulatory burden: EU requirements affecting insurers since March 2023" on 29 October 2026. It recalls that the European Commission committed in March 2023 to cut reporting requirements by 25% and later made simplification central to its work programme. Despite that, the federation says, insurers have had to implement or prepare for a large number of new and revised rules on prudential matters, resolution, sustainability, digital operations and anti-money laundering.

An annex lists the main frameworks with their length and follow-on measures. The Solvency II review and the Insurance Recovery and Resolution Directive (IRRD) both apply from 30 January 2027. The IRRD runs to 100 pages and mandates 19 technical standards and guidelines from EIOPA; the Solvency II review brings 13 technical standards into scope. DORA has applied since January 2025 with 12 Level 2 acts and two sets of guidelines. The 144-page AI Act applies generally from August 2026 and contains 14 powers for delegated acts. The proposed retail investment package would add 24 Level 2 and 3 measures under the Insurance Distribution Directive and the PRIIPs regulation.

The federation argues that the burden does not stop at the main legislation: delegated and implementing acts, technical standards, guidelines, supervisory expectations, national implementation and ad hoc data requests all add to it. It acknowledges that some frameworks, notably CSRD, CSDDD and the AI Act, have since been simplified, postponed or narrowed.

It proposes five principles: report data once and reuse it; screen out duplicate requirements; build proportionality in from the start; simplify at every level, including through a Financial Services Omnibus; and assess cumulative impact before adding rules. It wants these applied immediately to files now in progress.