The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released a new discussion paper proposing revisions to reporting requirements for general and life insurers.

The proposals are part of APRA’s review of capital standards for life and general insurance.

They include new reporting forms for calculating assets, insurance concentration and operational risk charges, “significant revisions” to existing forms for calculating asset concentration risk charges, prescribed capital amounts and capital bases and “minor revisions” to business groupings.

APRA also wants to change the methods it uses to collect information from insurers on the nature of counterparty and derivative exposures, and intends to rationalise the reporting of off balance sheet items and details on investment assets to single forms.

The regulator is also proposing to collect additional data on reinsurance exposures that will enable it to more readily assess the impact of reinsurer downgrades or defaults on solvency, net insurance liabilities and current reinsurance protections.

It says the new data will also allow better monitoring of reinsurer concentrations and will help it identify any systemically important reinsurers or reinsurance groups.

Proposed changes to the capital framework for life insurers would result in a range of new forms to calculate capital base, prescribed capital, asset, and insurance and operational risk charges.

Life groups may also have to change the way they report related party exposures and the changes in capital base that such exposures can effect.

APRA is also proposing a more detailed breakdown of life office assets, policy liabilities, revenues, incomes, statements of financial position and retained profits. 

Submissions on the discussion paper and the draft reporting forms will be received until August 17.