EIOPA in Frankfurt
EIOPA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, sets common standards for the supervision of insurers and occupational pension funds in the EU. It has had its seat in Frankfurt since it started work in 2011, today at Westhafenplatz 1 on the river Main.
One of three European Supervisory Authorities
EIOPA was established on January 1, 2011 under Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010 and replaced the committee of insurance supervisors, CEIOPS. It belongs to the European System of Financial Supervision with the European Banking Authority, ESMA for securities markets and the European Systemic Risk Board. Its Board of Supervisors is made up of the heads of the national supervisors; for Germany that is BaFin.
EIOPA does not license insurers. It develops common standards and procedures for supervising insurers, reinsurers, pension funds and insurance intermediaries, works for the consistent application of EU law, mediates between national supervisors and can act in emergencies. In Germany, BaFin licenses and supervises the insurers.
Solvency II and the rates insurers use
Solvency II is the EU rulebook for insurers' capital and risk management. EIOPA publishes the risk-free interest rate term structures every month, which insurers use to calculate their technical provisions, so that the same obligation is valued the same way in every member state.
AI, DORA and insurtech
On August 6, 2025 EIOPA published an opinion on AI governance and risk management, addressed to national supervisors. It explains how the Insurance Distribution Directive and Solvency II apply to AI systems that the EU AI Act does not class as prohibited or high-risk. AI for risk assessment and pricing in life and health insurance is high-risk under the AI Act itself.
Under DORA, EIOPA works with the EBA and ESMA on the oversight of ICT providers that the financial sector depends on. The three authorities designated the first critical ICT third-party providers in November 2025. The page on insurtech in Germany covers EIOPA's work on embedded insurance, and DORA in Germany covers the rules for insurers and their IT providers.
Upcoming risk and compliance events in Frankfurt
Where insurance and supervision people meet
EIOPA is one of three EU authorities in Frankfurt, next to the ECB and AMLA. Finance Loop events in the city bring together risk, compliance and data teams from insurers and banks with the technology firms that sell them software. Insurtech was on the program of KI Exchange in Hamburg, which Finance Loop covered, and suptech in Europe describes EIOPA's suptech strategy.
What does EIOPA do?
EIOPA supports the stability of the financial system and the protection of policyholders and pension scheme members. It writes technical standards and guidelines for insurance and occupational pensions supervision, checks that national supervisors apply EU law consistently and publishes data such as the Solvency II risk-free rates.
Where is EIOPA located?
EIOPA is at Westhafenplatz 1, 60327 Frankfurt am Main, in the Westhafen district on the river Main.
Does EIOPA supervise insurers directly?
No. National authorities such as BaFin license and supervise insurers. EIOPA sets common standards, compares how supervisors work and can mediate between them.
What is the difference between EIOPA and BaFin?
BaFin is the German supervisor that licenses insurers and supervises them day to day. EIOPA is the EU authority that writes common standards for all national supervisors, and BaFin's head sits on its Board of Supervisors.
EIOPA in Frankfurt and Finance Loop
Finance Loop covers insurance supervision, AI governance and DORA in its Risk & Compliance track, where insurers and banks face many of the same questions. Finance Loop holds its events in Frankfurt, the city of EIOPA, the ECB and AMLA.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the adoption of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.