ORSA— A Regulator’s Point of View

Assessing their own risks and capital needs to reduce the risk of insolvency is not a new concept for life and property and casualty (P&C) insurers, but supervisory expectations (e.g., Solvency II in Europe) and industry best practices have evolved over time, especially in recent years. In Canada, since Jan. 1, 2014, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has required each federally regulated insurer to carry out an Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) and to present their process and results in a report to its board of directors (board). This article highlights some of OSFI’s expectations regarding the ORSA process, and provides general feedback and observations from OSFI’s reading of 2014 ORSA reports (including KMR) and discussions with insurers.