Charlotte Gerken: Developments in the PRA's supervision of annuity providers

Speech by Ms Charlotte Gerken, Executive Director of Insurance Supervision of the Bank of England, at the 18th conference on bulk annuities, 29 April 2021.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Thank you to Westminster and City for inviting me to speak at your bulk purchase annuities conference.

At the time the 2020 conference was scheduled to take place, we were all grappling with the early impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on our work, our lives and loved ones. In the months since, life insurers' staff have worked hard and in challenging circumstances to serve their customers in very difficult times.

As companies, life insurers have so far come through the pandemic well. That is not to say things have been perfect, but we recognise the commitment of firms and their staff to ensuring business continuity – particularly important when considering in the case of annuity providers that an annuity may be a substantial portion of the retirement income of the recipient.