ICB statistics refer to the assets and liabilities insurance corporations resident in the euro area, covering both outstanding amounts and transactions.
ICs are divided into:
(i) reinsurance corporations
(ii) life insurance corporations
(iii) non-life insurance corporations
(iv) composite insurance corporations
ICs resident in the territory of a euro area Member State form the reference reporting population.
NCBs are entitled to exempt ICs from statistical reporting requirements in accordance with Article 7 of Regulation ECB/2014/50.
Euro Area
Insurance corporations belonging to the sub-sector “insurance corporations" in the ESA 2010, sector S.128.
These statistics are available as of reference period Q3 2016 and replace the non-harmonised euro area insurance corporations statistics which have been published by the ECB in the context of euro area insurance corporations and pension funds (ICPF) statistics. ICPF data are generally available for the reference periods Q1 2008 to Q2 2016, with a further estimate for Q3 2016 for the series on insurance corporations, in order to provide users with a link between the old and new datasets.
ICs submit to the NCBs the data that the NCBs require in accordance with Guideline ECB/2021/12 on financial intermediaries other than monetary financial institutions. These in turn report national aggregates to the ECB.
Quarterly
End of the period
Quarterly
For information about the naming convention (series key dimensions and metadata), refer to the ICB underlying DSD (ECB_ICPF1) maintained by the ECB.
Data are aggregated across IC sector in each Member State by NCBs or national statistical institutes to derive contributions to the euro area aggregated balance sheet of the IC sector.
Neither seasonally nor working-day adjusted.
Validation is based on the verification of balance sheet constraints, and on checks on the plausibility of developments at various levels of aggregation.
The revisions policy and procedures set by the ECB and the relevant NCB must be followed.
ICB - Insurance Corporations Assets and Liabilities
National central banks (NCBs) and ECB
Quality is ensured by means of a comprehensive legal framework included in the Guideline ECB/2021/12 on financial intermediaries other than monetary financial institutions.
Minimum standards for accuracy:
(a) statistical information must be correct: all linear constraints must be fulfilled (e.g. subtotals must add up to totals);
(b) reporting agents must be able to provide information on the developments implied by the transmitted data;
(c) statistical information must be complete and must not contain continuous and structural gaps; existing gaps should be acknowledged, explained to the relevant NCB and, where applicable, bridged as soon as possible;
(d) reporting agents must follow the dimensions, rounding policy and decimals set by the relevant NCB for the technical transmission of the data.
Quarterly data are reported by close of business on the 40th working day, 35th working days as of reference periods in 2019 following the end of the quarter to which the data relate.
Publication approximately 10 weeks following the reference period, 9 weeks as of reference periods in 2019.
See the release calendar for insurance corporations statistics in the euro area on the ECB’s website.
Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW) and ECB website
Press Release on the ECB website
The framework for the collection of insurance corporation (IC) statistics is laid down in the ECB Regulation concerning statistics on the assets and liabilities of insurance corporations (ECB/2014/50). This Regulation is complemented by Guideline ECB/2021/12.
The national central banks are allowed to derive the necessary statistical information, to the extent possible, from data reported for supervisory purposes under the EU’s Solvency II framework .
Regulation ECB/2014/50 concerning statistical reporting requirements for insurance corporations
Guideline ECB/2021/12 on financial intermediaries other than monetary financial institutions
Download the series catalogue containing a full list of series and associated metadata of the dataset ICB in CSV format (zipped)