Private actors and public accountability: the role of actuaries and auditors in UK life insurance regulation

Abstract

The establishment of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as the new unified regulator heralded fundamental change for UK financial services regulation. The FSA has developed detailed general corporate governance arrangements applicable to firms, individuals and systems. The FSA has also developed specific governance arrangements in the insurance sector which enrol private actors, actuaries and auditors in regulation. Together, the arrangements form a multilayered governance and accountability network involving a wide range of actors and stakeholders. This paper examines the changing public accountability role of two key groups of private actors in the governance arrangements of life insurers by using empirical evidence gathered from actuaries and auditors. The paper concludes that the FSA, as a key government regulator acting on behalf of the public, carries out its public accountability function in part by the enrolment of private actors, involving a decentred, fragmented and hybridised approach to financial services regulation.