An increasing number of UK insurers believe the industry will miss the January 2014 compliance deadline for the Solvency II capital regulation regime.

The Economist Intelligence Unit questioned 60 UK-based insurers and found 37% believe the industry will not meet the deadline, up from 24% last year.

Deloitte commissioned the research, and its lead Solvency II Partner Rick Lester says there is continuing uncertainty around the details of the measure and “the fact that these are unlikely to be clarified until relatively close to the go-live date”.

“This means there will be not much time for insurers and regulators to finalise their arrangements and approach with complete knowledge of the rules,” he said.

Mr Lester says insurers are concerned about the additional cost of delays. More than 70% say implementation setbacks have taken a toll on budgets, and 42% say delays have increased program costs by more than 5%.