BRUSSELS (Bloomberg) — European Financial Services Commissioner Charlie McCreevy urged lawmakers and governments to approve a proposed insurance overhaul this year, or they will set back the change sought by the industry to start in 2012.

The European Union bill known as Solvency II would update 30- year-old capital requirements to better reflect the economic risks in an industry that is growing more international, say proponents including McCreevy and insurers such as Allianz SE and Axa SA.

McCreevy pledged at a conference in Brussels yesterday that negotiators on the legislation will address the concerns of some EU governments about centralising more oversight of multinational insurers in their home-country regulators.