The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority on 6 October published a supervisory statement on the authorisation and ongoing supervision of insurers and reinsurers linked to private equity. The statement, EIOPA-BoS-26/388, is addressed to national supervisors under Solvency II. It does not change capital rules or bar any type of owner. It tells supervisors what to ask for when a private equity firm wants to buy an insurer, and what to keep watching afterwards.
The scale is still small in Europe
The statement puts numbers on the trend. Using data from 14 member states, EIOPA counts 26 private equity-related insurers managing €260 billion of assets, or 2.4% of the European market at the end of 2023. It contrasts this with the United States, where it cites NAIC data showing 137 private equity-owned insurers holding 7.8% of the industry’s cash and invested assets at the end of 2024.
The trend is further along in the US, and EIOPA wants common supervisory expectations in place while the European share is still modest. Supervisors face a practical constraint: an acquisition must be assessed within the 60 working days that Article 58 of the Solvency II Directive allows.
The exit plan is a solvency question
The central concern is timing. Private equity firms typically hold an investment for five to ten years, while insurers carry obligations to policyholders for decades. EIOPA asks supervisors to assess whether the buyer’s investment horizon and business plan fit those obligations. Where the mismatch is significant, especially alongside high early distributions to shareholders or incentives for an early exit, supervisors “may conclude that the business model is not viable.”
Supervisors are advised to require at least a three-year business plan and a full list of changes the buyer plans after the deal. Where the plan is not detailed enough, they could ask for the minutes of the investment committee or board that approved the acquisition. They should also check whether capital commitments are limited to the insurer or extend to the whole fund, and read both the shareholder agreement and the fund’s partnership agreement.
The concern continues after the deal. As the fund approaches the end of its horizon, or after a failed sale, EIOPA warns that the owners’ incentive to support the insurer may be “significantly reduced or even eliminated”.
Good supervision looks first and foremost at risks, not at who an insurer’s owners are.
Petra Hielkema, Chair, EIOPA, 6 October 2026
Ownership chains must be justified level by level
Acquisitions often run through several holding companies, some in third countries whose regimes are not equivalent. EIOPA says private equity firms “should aim for ownership structures that are not overly complex”, for example by limiting the levels above the insurer. Where a structure is complex or opaque, the buyer should explain the governance of the private equity firm, the entities that influence its decisions and the agreements between the general partners and those entities, and justify each level of the chain.
Supervisors are advised to attach reporting conditions to their declaration of no objection, covering changes in the group structure and financial information on the main holdings of the private equity group.
Private credit and reinsurance get close scrutiny
On investments, the statement notes that private equity owners often shift insurers toward private credit, unrated credit and other alternative assets, which yield more but are complex, illiquid and harder to value. In some cases insurer assets fund other businesses in the same group, “including by providing funding for leveraged buyouts.” Supervisors should check whether the insurer has staff able to value such assets independently, whether the holdings fit the prudent person principle, and whether the solvency capital requirement captures their risks.
On reinsurance, EIOPA says the capital relief from heavy use of reinsurance, often intra-group or with third-country reinsurers, is only partly offset by higher counterparty default charges. Supervisors should test whether risk is really transferred, with attention to high or variable commissions and termination clauses.
Governance must stay independent of the general partner
Because general partners often control their portfolio companies closely, supervisors should confirm that the insurer’s board has insurance expertise and enough independence to resist undue influence. EIOPA flags affirmative voting rights, special shareholder rights and leveraged management share schemes as items to examine. Intragroup asset management, outsourcing and reinsurance deals should be at arm’s length.
What to watch
- How national supervisors apply the statement in acquisition reviews and in conditions on declarations of no objection.
- Supervisory findings on private credit valuation at private equity-backed insurers.
- Any follow-up by EIOPA on reinsurance with third-country reinsurers.
Primary sources
- EIOPA, EIOPA sets EU-wide expectations for the supervision of private equity-backed insurers, 6 October 2026
- EIOPA, Supervisory Statement on the authorisation and ongoing supervision of (re)insurance undertakings related to private equity, EIOPA-BoS-26/388, 6 October 2026
Photo (cropped): Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
