Value for money (POG)

Since its first annual Consumer Trends Report, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has been highlighting concerns regarding issues in the European unit-linked products. Costs can significantly impact the returns of all insurance-based investment products.

While well-designed unit-linked products can provide substantial benefits to consumers, enabling them to seek higher returns, those not crafted in a customer-centric manner remain a prominent area of concern for supervisory authorities. National competent authorities report several issues, including high complexity, mis-selling, mismatches between actual returns and customers’ expectations. Notably, there are concerns about the poor value these products offer. Therefore, it is crucial to raise awareness among insurance players, insurance undertakings, and intermediaries and develop a common approach for addressing value-for-money risks.

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• understand the context and regulatory background of the Value for Money concept;
• understand EIOPA's supervisory expectations on POG;
• understand the key messages of EIOPA and the CAA related to the Value for Money key requirements;
• understand Retail Investment Strategy context, and requirements and connections with the Value for Money.

• Past, present and future of IDD
• EIOPA consumer’s trends reports and Value for Money
• Value for Money background
• EIOPA’s supervisory expectations on POG
• Relevant considerations on the value proposition
• Peer review on POG
• EIOPA Value for Money statement
• EIOPA Value for Money methodology
• Retail investment strategy: the context
• Retail investment strategy: the challenge(s)
• Retail investment strategy: zooming into Value for Money
• Current supervisory approach and expectations at EU level
• CAA key messages and offered tools to evaluate the Value for Money
• CAA Information Note 23/4 related to the quantitative questionnaire on " Value for Money "

This training is coordinated by Anthony Dault, Partner and Antonella Argalia, Senior Manager at PwC Luxembourg. It will be delivered by experts from PwC Luxembourg's Insurance sector, who have acquired in their daily work a significant and detailed experience of the issues faced by insurance market players. (Depending on the needs expressed, PwC Luxembourg may mobilise experts within its network).

• Anthony Dault is a partner specialising in insurance and reinsurance with over 20 years of experience gained through PwC’s Luxembourg and Paris practices. He leads audit engagements for multinational subsidiaries under various reporting frameworks, overseeing the insurance audit line and managing operations and HR for audit staff. Anthony directs both technical and non-technical training curricula and external training in this field. Beyond audits, he leads insurance regulatory solutions focusing on ESG/SF, AML/KYC, cross-border distribution, and compliance support. He has successfully delivered regulatory licensing and restructuring projects from strategic planning to operational setup.
• Antonella Argalia is a senior manager within PwC Luxembourg’s insurance practice since October 2016, bringing over 25 years of experience in the European insurance industry. She began her career at Generali Assicurazioni in Italy and has worked with Swiss, German, and Belgian life insurance companies in Luxembourg, focusing on product management across various markets. Antonella has extensive expertise in regulatory projects, product development, and marketing, particularly for wealth solutions targeting (U)HNWI through unit-linked life insurance products under the EU freedom to provide services regime. Her key projects include IDD assistance, insurance due diligence, product suitability, solicitation, and regulatory analysis.