The head of the U.K. Financial Services Authority said Wednesday that the regulator expects the country's insurers to meet the requirements of the Solvency II capital regime to be implemented across Europe in 2013.

"We expect the firms to be ready. Until the [European] Commission changes the deadline, we continue expect the firms to be ready before the deadline," FSA Chief Executive Hector Sants told a conference of the Association of British Insurers.

Sants also appeared to suggest that the government may give concessions to firms that would have difficulty in meeting the requirements.

"We won't say anything more than that. But I'll draw your attention to the fact that in previous directives, we have always been pragmatic and careful in how we respond to somebody not being ready for a legitimate and understandable reason," Sants said.

"I know that's slightly ambiguous," he said without elaborating.

-By Vladimir Guevarra, Dow Jones Newswires. Tel. +44 (0) 2078429486, vladimir.guevarra@dowjones.com

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