Karel Van Hulle, head of the insurance and pensions unit of the European Commission from 2004 until February 2013, will be a keynote speaker at the FERMA Forum in Maastricht starting on 29 September. During this time, his main responsibility was the preparation of the new prudential regulation of insurance and reinsurance, Solvency II.

Karel Van Hulle

A lawyer by training, Professor Van Hulle joined DG Internal Market and Services in 1984 after serving eight years with the Belgian Banking Commission. He then held head of unit positions in accounting, auditing and financial reporting before moving to life and pensions. In this role, his areas of responsibility included life assurance, non-life insurance, reinsurance, motor insurance, insurance guarantee schemes and pension funds.

Having retired from the Commission in February, Professor Van Hulle is continuing his professional career as an academic. He is a member of the Jan Ronse Company Law Institute at the Law Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and a member of the executive board of the International Centre for Insurance Regulation at the Goethe
University in Frankfurt.

Julia Graham

The chairman of the Forum technical committee FERMA board member Julia Graham, said: “We are delighted to welcome Karel Van Hulle as a keynote speaker to the Forum. Karel was instrumental in the introduction of the Solvency II Directive. Following his retirement, he continues to defend the European cause
from influential academic positions where he can also pass on his experience to professional and young people. These objectives are in tune with FERMA’s own, where we aim to represent our profession and to encourage young professionals.”