Australia’s financial services regulators might be relaxing after a thorough bout of reform over the past seven years, but one UK reinsurance leader has urged for “greater harmonisation” between international regulators to build a global regulatory regime.

Speaking at a UK Financial Services Authority conference in London, Swiss Re GB CEO Tim Carroll said while a single global regulator is unrealistic, a global regime is desirable.

He cites Solvency II – Europe’s insurance regulation set to come into force in 2012 – as a “visionary approach likely to transform the insurance landscape not only in Europe but throughout the world”.

Mr Carroll says the framework is likely to impact on the US political debate about reforming insurance regulation.

“[Solvency II] will have created the conditions for harmonisation for a market that exists across different languages, different cultures, different product structures, different consumer needs and, therefore, regulatory regimes rooted in vastly different histories,” he said.

He says a recent survey shows 90% of senior insurance and reinsurance professionals believe greater regulatory harmonisation will be good for their companies.