The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) released a policy paper titled Insurance and Financial Stability. This paper was designed to explore the interrelationship between the insurance industry, and the financial system and other financial market institutions. Two main findings were particularly relevant. First, there is little evidence that traditional insurance generates or amplifies financial instability within the financial system or real economy. This view was buttressed by findings that the traditional insurance business model enabled the majority of insurers to withstand the recent financial crisis considerably well.

Second, insurance groups and conglomerates may come under stress and become globally systemically important, and so contribute to potential financial instability, if and when they expand into non-traditional and non-insurance activities, such as credit default swaps.

The IAIS emphasised that supervisors should closely monitor insurance groups engaging in non-traditional and non-insurance activities. Furthermore, regulatory measures need to take into account the differences in the impact of failures of bankers and insurers on the financial system.