Solvency II: General notes

Factsheet

Read aloud

Solvency II is the new, risk-based supervisory framework for the insurance sector that came into effect on 1 January 2016. The framework consists of the Solvency II Directive (2009/138/EC), its implementing regulation technical standards, and Delegated Regulation.

Published: 14 June 2023

The European Commission published the Solvency II Delegated Regulation (Delegated Acts) on 17 January 2015. The Delegated Regulation sets out important information and requirements, regarding adoption of the balance sheet, determining own funds, capital requirements, the internal operations requirements, internal models, reporting and group supervision under Solvency II.

In addition to this, the Solvency II framework has been fleshed out in the EIOPA technical standards and guidelines. The technical standards primarily concern procedures and processes and will come into force immediately after publication by the European Commission. The EIOPA guidelines provide further details to the Solvency II supervisory standards, which the national supervisory authorities are required to incorporate in their regulatory frameworks (by way of a comply-or-explain procedure). DNB imposes all EIOPA guidelines and implements them on a national scale by means of the Policy Rule on Application of ESA Guidelines.

The Solvency II guidelines are embedded in Dutch law in the Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht - Wft) and its subsidiary regulations. Implementation of the Solvency II Directive at the national level has been effectuated through the Act implementing the Solvency II Directive, the Omnibus II Implementation Act and the Decree implementing the Solvency II Directive and Regulation. These laws and regulations have now been finalised and published (see below). The Decree implementing the Solvency II Directive and Regulation also provides further details of the new Solvency II Basic regime for insurance companies that do not come under Solvency II.

Structure of the Solvency II framework

Solvency II is based on three interconnected pillars:

Pillar 1 focuses on quantifiable risks and related provisions and capital requirements.

Pillar 2 focuses on risk management and operational management of insurance companies.

Pillar 3 focuses on the requirements applying to public disclosure of information and supervisory reporting.

Pillar 1 includes a standard model for the calculation of the solvency capital requirement (SCR). As an alternative, Solvency II enables insurance companies to apply internal models , subject to specific conditions.

All insurance companies that are part of a group are considered as a single economic unit. Consequently, they are subject not only to individual supervision but also to supplementary group supervision.

Scope

In-kind funeral services insurers are not governed by the Solvency II Directive. With a few exceptions, the same applies to small insurance companies with gross annual premium income of less than EUR 5 million, or technical provisions of less than EUR 25 million. In Netherlands, an alternative regime has been developed for this group, referred to as Solvency II: Basic. This regime is built up along the lines of Solvency II, but is less extensive in scope, in view of proportionality.

European Solvency II legislation

Level 1 Solvency II Directive as amended

Level 2 Solvency II implementing rules (Delegated Acts)

Level 2,5 Technical Standards

Level 3 Document Library - EIOPA

National laws and regulations implementing Solvency II

Act implementing Solvency II Directive (Implementatiewet richtlijn Solvabiliteit IIAct implementing Solvency II Directive)

Act implementing Omnibus II Directive (Implementatiewet Omnibus II-richtlijnAct implementing Omnibus II Directive)

Decree implementing Solvency II Directive and Regulation (Implementatiebesluit richtlijn en verordening Solvabiliteit IIDecree implementing Solvency II Directive and Regulation)

Policy Rule on Application of ESA Guidelines under the Wft (Beleidsregel toepassing richtsnoeren ESA’s WftPolicy Rule on Application of ESA Guidelines under the)

If you have any questions on this subject, please send an e-mail to: Solvency2@dnb.nl

Base law

Solvency II-richtlijn inclusief amendementen (Refers to an external site)

Related websites

EIOPA (Refers to an external site)

EU - Solvency II (Refers to an external site)

Discover related articles

Factsheet

Insurers

Share:

Share on LinkedIn

Share on X

Share on Facebook

Share via Email

Interesting articles

Dutch insurers and pension funds have been investing more in private assets in recent years

15 July 2026

News item supervision

Dutch insurers and pension funds are investing more and more in private assets, such as private equity and private credit. By 2025, they had a combined total of €276 billion worth of these investments on their books.

Read more Dutch insurers and pension funds have been investing more in private assets in recent years

News item supervision

15 July 2026

De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

25 June 2026

News item supervision

In the third edition of ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus’ (ISF), we share the key insights from our integrity supervision.

Read more De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

News item supervision

25 June 2026

DNB email on technical adjustments

25 June 2026

News item supervision

This week, you may receive an email from De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). This email concerns technical adjustments required to continue corresponding with DNB by email.

Read more DNB email on technical adjustments

News item supervision

25 June 2026

Update FATF-warning lists June 2026

23 June 2026

News item supervision

FATF released an update of its ‘grey’ and ‘black’ lists.

Read more Update FATF-warning lists June 2026

News item supervision

23 June 2026

Necessary cookies

To ensure the proper operation of the website, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) uses functional cookies and analytics cookies, and has taken measures to ensure that these cookies have little or no impact on the privacy of website users.

Optional cookies

Some pages include embedded content from external websites. These websites may use proprietary (tracking) cookies. This allows third parties to track visitor statistics, show personalised content and display targeted ads, for example.

You can make your choice about allowing these optional cookies both when you first visit the website and when you navigate to a page with embedded content.