User:ICIR Frankfurt

The International Center for Insurance Regulation (ICIR) ) is an independent scientific institute in the area of Insurance Regulation, located in Frankfurt am Main. It is affiliated to the Goethe University Frankfurt and a research unit in the House of Finance, which comprises all finance related research activities of the university. The ICIR has been founded in 2010 and is sponsored by the German Insurance Association Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft, GDV and the State of Hesse. Producing numerous research publications in renowned journals, organizing international conferences and a lively exchange with decision makers from regulatory authorities, politics and practice, the ICIR aims a global leadership position in its subject area.

Research
The research interests of the ICIR focus on risk management and insurance regulation. Specific research questions include, among others:
 * Rules-based versus principles-based regulation
 * Regulatory policy under multiple objectives
 * Guaranty funds and moral hazard problems
 * Group supervision: optimal capital transfer mechanisms

According to the philosophy of the House of Finance a tight interdisciplinary exchange between the economic and the legal perspective is the foundation for research. In cooperation with the Institute for Insurance Law the ICIR can build on already existing legal expertise. The Center issues a working paper series that is jointly edited by Prof. Manfred Wandt and Prof.Helmut Gründl.

Education
Within Goethe University’s business and economics master programs, courses in “Risk Management and Insurance” and “Asset and Liability Management of Insurance Companies” are offered. Together with the Goethe Business School the ICIR offers customized workshops and training programs on current issues for regulatory authorities and insurance companies. In 2013, the ICIR will extend its teaching activities at Goethe University. Hartmut Nickel-Waninger and Karel van Hulle will both be lecturing in the business and economics bachelor program on “Insurance and Regulation”. In addition to the university courses, the ICIR was asked by the Deutsche Versicherungsakademie (DVA) and the Gesamtverband der Deutschen Versicherungswirtschaft (GDV) to jointly develop an executive education program for the insurance industry, which already started in 2011. This program intends to train insurance managers for the future requirements of Solvency II.

International and interdisciplinary platform
Besides research, the ICIR provides an international and interdisciplinary platform for scientists, the insurance industry, regulatory authorities, and policymakers to exchange ideas and seek answers to regulatory issues. The ICIR acts as a co-organizer of conferences and seeks dialogue with top researchers worldwide. A planned fellowship program facilitates network-building with internationally renowned scholars.

The ICIR profits from the proximity to the European Insurance and European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) and the European Central Bank (ECB) with the European Systemic Risk Board. Core elements of the exchange between regulatory authorities, politics and academia were for example the seminars on Insurance and Regulation in 2011 and 2012, in which EIOPA-President Gabriel Bernardino, Karel van Hulle from the EU Commission, and, BaFin-President Elke König presented their ideas on Solvency II. In September 2012 the ICIR, in cooperation with EIOPA, hosted an international conference on Global Insurance Supervision. The issues discussed were group supervision and possible systemic risks in the insurance sector.

Weblinks
ICIR Homepage

ICIR on Facebook