The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) has called for a centralised approach to pensions and insurance data collection across the EU, warning that "fragmented" national practices are hindering the single market.

In its response to the European Commission’s consultation on the integration of EU capital markets, EIOPA said that it could “act as a central data hub – both receiving from and providing access to all national competent authorities (NCAs) across both the insurance and pensions sectors”.

The authority believes that this would support “greater simplification and consistency”.

Under its vision, EIOPA and the NCAs would be joint data owners within their respective administrative networks.

“Improved data access would enable more effective regulation and supervision. New data 6 requirements – especially in the pensions area – should be centralised from the outset. For instance, IORP II data could be the first to be collected and processed by EIOPA, then shared with relevant stakeholders,” the response stated.

Additionally, the authority said it would be “valuable” to have a mandate to access and integrate pillar 1 pension data into its pensions work, allowing for “more comprehensive analysis and a deeper understanding of market trends”.

Its proposals come as it warned that the “increasing volume and complexity of EU legislation – both sector-specific and horizontal – has not been matched by corresponding resources at national or European level”.

It views the single market as a “fragmented landscape” where a complex supervisory framework, limited EU-level oversight, and inconsistent consumer protection across member states continue to “hinder the single market from reaching its full potential” in the sectors it oversees.

On a more positive note, however, it said the single market is "alive and well" for Europe’s (re)insurers.

"Large insurance groups conduct a significant portion of their business across multiple member states: the 20 largest groups alone account for nearly 60 per cent of insurance premia underwritten in the EEA."

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