This methodology paper was originally published in August 2020. The FSB subsequently published Guidance on the Scope of Insurers Subject to the Recovery and Resolution Planning Requirements in the FSB Key Attributes. That guidance revises the definition of a critical function, details of which are included in an explanatory note.
Methodology for essential criteria to guide the assessment of the compliance of a jurisdiction’s insurance resolution framework.
This methodology paper was originally published in August 2020. The FSB subsequently published Guidance on the Scope of Insurers Subject to the Recovery and Resolution Planning Requirements in the FSB Key Attributes. That guidance revises the definition of a critical function, details of which are included in an explanatory note.
This methodology sets out essential criteria to guide the assessment of the compliance of a jurisdiction’s insurance resolution framework with the FSB’s Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions (Key Attributes). It was developed in collaboration with experts from FSB jurisdictions, relevant standard-setting bodies, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It is designed to promote consistent assessments across jurisdictions and to provide guidance to jurisdictions when adopting or amending their resolution regimes to implement the Key Attributes.
The Key Attributes constitute an ‘umbrella’ standard for resolution regimes for all types of financial institutions. Implementation of the Key Attributes allows authorities to resolve financial institutions in an orderly manner without taxpayer exposure to loss from solvency support, while maintaining continuity of their vital economic functions. However, not all attributes are equally relevant for all sectors. The Key Attributes Assessment Methodology provides an insurance sector-specific interpretation of individual KAs. It stresses that a jurisdiction’s insurance resolution regime should be proportionate to the size, structure and complexity of the jurisdiction’s insurance system.
In December 2022, the FSB announced that it would discontinue the annual identification of global systemically important insurers, and would instead utilise assessments available through the IAIS Holistic Framework to inform its considerations of systemic risk in the insurance sector. The FSB reaffirmed this decision in November 2025, and in April 2026, published Guidance on the Scope of Insurers Subject to the Recovery and Resolution Planning Requirements in the FSB Key Attributes, which updates the definition of a “critical function”.
