On 20th August 2020, the Financial Supervisory Authority (FI) announced that it had informed the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) that the authority intends to apply the guidelines on cloud service providers . The guidelines apply to insurance and reinsurance companies from 1 January 2021 for all assignment agreements on cloud services entered into or changed on or after this date.
FI’s view is that guidelines from Europe addressed to competent authorities or financial market participants are to be equated with general advice. Regulation 1094/2010 / EU on the establishment of EIOPA means that the competent authorities or financial market participants shall seek to comply with these guidelines by all available means directly as a result of the Regulation.
The guidelines aim to create clarity and transparency for market players so that any regulatory arbitrage is avoided, and to promote convergence among regulators in terms of processes and expectations in relation to cloud services.