A decision by the European Commission officially to delay implementation of new insurance accounting regulations under Solvency II for two years has been welcomed by the accountancy profession as providing greater certainty.

European Commissioner Michel Barnier has put forward a draft 'quick fix' directive to amend transposition and implementation dates for Solvency II. The new regulations will now start on 1 January 2016, rather than at the beginning of next year.

Paul Clarke, PwC partner and global insurance regulatory leader, said: 'The fact that Commissioner Barnier has chosen January 2016 as the start date in this new directive is encouraging and reflects confidence among the policy makers that a solution to the outstanding long term guarantee issue will be found this year ahead of Parliamentary elections in 2014.'

Janine Hawes, insurance director at KPMG, said the move would mean that 'the long-awaited amendments from Omnibus 2 will be agreed and incorporated into Solvency II, allowing regulatory regimes to move forward'.

'We also welcome the widened period between transposition and implementation dates, which has increased from six months to 11 months. This will give industry a longer period of legal certainty before full compliance is required,' Hawes said.