The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has published its final policy on the Matching Adjustment Investment Accelerator (MAIA), setting out a new permission that lets UK insurers using the matching adjustment (MA) include a limited amount of self-assessed MA-eligible assets with features not covered by their existing MA permission and claim MA benefit immediately. Firms must then submit an MA application to regularise those MAIA assets within 24 months, while continuing to benefit from MA capital treatment during the regularisation period. Key elements include amendments to the PRA Rulebook and updates to supervisory statements and related forms and returns. The PRA retained the standard approach to MAIA exposure limits as the lower of 5% of MA portfolio best estimate liabilities net of reinsurance and a firm-proposed amount capped at GBP 2 billion, assessed on nominal amounts invested rather than market value, and now expects firms to include both nominal invested and committed amounts (with foreign currency amounts converted using the exchange rate at initial investment). The final package also extends the annual MAIA use report deadline to no later than 18 weeks after financial year-end, shifts asset eligibility expectations toward a more proportionate and risk-based approach, and refines contingency planning expectations so plans should not assume an immediate sale following a PRA ineligibility determination and should address how the firm expects to continue to invest in the asset outside the MA portfolio. The breach framework retains a two-month remediation window and, if unresolved, a 10% reduction in MA benefit across the MA portfolio increasing by 10 percentage points per month. Updates also adjust funded reinsurance expectations to permit certain intra-group recapture assumptions where specified conditions are met and clarify that internal model updates will not generally be required when a MAIA permission is granted. The final rules and policy materials take effect on 27 October 2025, when firms may apply for a MAIA permission, while changes to the Matching Adjustment Asset and Liability Information Return (MALIR) template are implemented from 31 December 2026.
Prudential Regulation Authority 2025-10-23
Prudential Regulation Authority finalises Matching Adjustment Investment Accelerator and allows MAIA permission applications from 27 October 2025
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has finalized its policy on the Matching Adjustment Investment Accelerator (MAIA), allowing UK insurers to include self-assessed MA-eligible assets not covered by existing permissions and claim immediate MA benefits. Key changes include amendments to the PRA Rulebook, supervisory statements, and forms, with exposure limits set at the lower of 5% of MA portfolio liabilities or GBP 2 billion. Effective 27 October 2025, the policy also extends reporting deadlines and refines asset eligibility and contingency planning expectations.