Maria Luís Albuquerque sees insurance companies as the “investment engine” of the European economy

In a world shaken by geopolitical tensions, climate disasters and unprecedented technological acceleration, Europe needs appropriate responses. And for Maria Luís Albuquerque, European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investment Union, a decisive part of these responses involves a sector that many still see only as a protection mechanism.

This Thursday, at the Insurance Economic Forum promoted by the Portuguese Insurance Association (APS) at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, the European Commissioner argued that insurers must go beyond traditional risk management and take on the role of strategic institutional investors serving the European economy.

Maria Luís Albuquerque opened her speech by framing the current moment: geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, extreme weather events and rapid technological change are reshaping the risks facing societies and economies.

For the Commissioner, “managing risk no longer means just reacting to the unexpected. It means anticipating, adapting and building resilience in a more uncertain world”. This paradigm shift puts insurers at the centre of the response.

One of the central themes of her speech was the so-called protection gap — the gap between existing risks and those that are effectively covered by insurance. The Commissioner recalled recent events in Portugal, such as Storm Kristin, to emphasise that the impact of these phenomena “is not abstract. It is real, it is human and it demands concrete responses.” She also left a warning: “In a Europe increasingly exposed to climate, geopolitical and technological risks, reducing this protection gap is not only an economic priority — it is also a social and strategic responsibility.”

In addition to risk coverage, Maria Luís Albuquerque reinforced the role of insurers as major institutional investors, noting that they manage long-term savings and have “a unique time horizon — a key asset in an economy that needs stable financing to invest in energy transition, technological innovation and strategic infrastructure”, she stressed.

This is precisely why the European Commission has proposed amendments to the Solvency II delegated act, making the rules “more proportionate, more efficient and more in line with the role of insurers as long-term investors”, he pointed out.

The central argument is that long-term capital cannot remain idle. “In a Europe that needs to invest more, we cannot have long-term capital tied up by overly conservative interpretations of risk. We need a framework that fully recognises that the insurance sector is not just a risk mitigator — it is also a driver of investment, innovation and European economic growth”, argued the European Commissioner, signalling that there is room for greater participation by insurers as a source of “patient” capital, including venture capital.

This vision fits directly into the project that Maria Luís Albuquerque oversees in Brussels. “This is precisely the spirit of the Savings and Investment Union: to create a more integrated financial system capable of transforming European savings into economic growth and real opportunities”, she said. Brussels’ goal is thus to transform insurers and the European financial system in general into an effective lever for growth, and not just a protection mechanism.

Pensions and retirement savings were also highlighted in her speech, with Maria Luís Albuquerque referring to the European pension package presented last November, which focuses on increasing citizen participation and creating incentives for long-term savings.

At the heart of this is the revitalisation of the Pan-European Personal Pension Product (PEPP), with the aim of making it “simpler, more flexible and truly European”. The logic is that of a virtuous circle in which “more savings for retirement also means more capital available to finance the European economy — creating a virtuous circle between individual financial security and economic growth”, noted the European Commissioner.

Regulatory stability was another key point in her speech. In a context of increasing volatility, Maria Luís Albuquerque stressed that “regulatory stability is now, more than ever, an instrument of European competitiveness — because in a rapidly changing world, trust in the rules is as valuable as the capital that finances the economy”. This message was addressed both to investors and to insurers themselves, who need predictability in order to plan and invest for the long term.

At the end of her speech, the European Commissioner was clear in defining the role she expects the sector to play: “The insurance sector is not just an observer — it is a key player. A risk manager, a strategic investor and an essential partner in building a more resilient economy.”

For the former finance minister, reducing the protection gap, mobilising long-term savings and ensuring a stable regulatory framework are not just challenges, but above all opportunities that Europe cannot afford to miss.