The European insurance regulator has called for a “clear and credible” timetable for implementing the Solvency II rules.

European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority Chairman Gabriel Bernardino says his members have “major worries” about the new rules’ introduction.

If Solvency II cannot be quickly finalised, national regulators will have to work with an arcane set of rules, he says.

“If we have to continue with supervision on that basis, there is a huge danger that supervisors will not be able to identify and analyse risks correctly,” Mr Bernardino says in a letter to Michel Barnier, the European Commission’s Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services.

“They will not be able to take the necessary supervisory actions in time, which may have serious consequences for policyholder protection.”

The European Commission responded by saying it is working to solve the problems of implementing Solvency II, without going into any more detail.

The delay has been quietly welcomed by insurers who have no appetite for the new rules.

Only 34% of German, 17% of Italian and 13% of Spanish insurers expect to be compliant with Solvency II by 2015, according to Ernst & Young.