The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has launched a new consultation after it announced and published draft Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA) guidance for Ontario-incorporated insurance companies and reciprocal insurance exchanges.

“An effective ORSA protects the rights and interests of consumers as insurers that effectively manage their risks and maintain adequate capital above regulatory capital levels under a plausible range of adverse scenarios enables them to maintain stability, long-term viability and meet their policyholders’, members’ and subscribers’ obligations,” the regulators states in an announcement about the guidance’s publication.

Prudent capital management practices 

“Adequate capital, including overall prudent capital management practices, is critical for the overall solvency, safety, soundness and resilience of an insurer,” the guidance adds. “The quality, complexity and frequency of an insurer’s ORSA is commensurate with its size, complexity and risk profile. FSRA is publishing this guidance to set out principles and intended outcomes in relation to prudent capital management and a comprehensive ORSA process.” 

They add that a comprehensive ORSA includes forward-looking stress testing, continuity analysis and other contingency planning. “FSRA will monitor and assess, as part of its supervisory review, how effectively insurers adopt these principles for the purposes of determining the overall risk rating of an insurer.” 

Governance and oversight 

The guidance goes on to discuss governance and oversight and the comprehensive identification and assessment of risks. “The materiality of all known, reasonably foreseeable, emerging and other relevant risks, in both normal and stressed situations, are well identified, clearly defined and comprehensively assessed,” the guidance states as one of its preferred outcomes. Relating risk to capital, monitoring and reporting, internal controls and objective review are all also discussed. “The intensity and frequency of FSRA’s supervisory review with respect to an insurer’s ORSA is proportional to its size, complexity and risk profile,” they conclude. The regulator is seeking feedback on the guidance by January 28, 2025.