The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has rejected a call to change the way life insurers report reinsurance risks.

The regulator sought feedback on how data is collected, but received only two submissions from the industry.

One suggested redesigning the reporting form for asset concentration risks, but APRA has rejected this as too expensive for all parties.

However, the regulator has amended its reporting instructions for determining the stressed value of reinsurance assets. Many of the changes are minor, but gross policy liabilities ceded to reinsurance must be the same as totals included in other APRA reporting forms.

The regulator “expects the reporting instructions will provide sufficient guidance to life companies in completing the reporting items”.

“APRA accepts that in some instances life companies may need to make approximations to complete the required data items,” it says.

“Approximations are acceptable, as long as they do not have a material impact on the exposure reported.”

Another of the life industry’s concerns was the confidentiality of data submitted on companies’ exposures to reinsurance contracts.

APRA says it will consult further on publishing this data, but all figures collected at this stage will remain confidential.

It says it will finalise the reporting standard before the implementation date of June 30.