IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Grainne Callanan, April McClements and Aisling Kavanagh, Matheson LLP
gration and enhancing consumer protection. The IDR were designed to: • enhance consumer protection and ensure a level playing field across the sector by extending the scope of application to include all participants in the distribution of insurance products; • identify and mitigate conflicts of interest, particu- larly regarding remuneration; and • introduce increased transparency and business conduct requirements. 2.2 Writing of Insurance and Reinsurance See 2.1 Insurance and Reinsurance Regulatory Bod- Insurance undertakings and intermediaries authorised by the CBI or another EU/EEA member state carry- ing on business in Ireland must comply with certain Irish general good requirements, such as the CPC. The CPC contains general and specific provisions concerning insurance, including requirements relat- ing to premium handling and contact with consumers (eg, information that must be provided to consumers before entering into a contract for a product or ser- vice, as well as records, errors, rebates and claims processing). Persons carrying out a “controlled function” on behalf of financial service providers are expected to satisfy the minimum professional knowledge and competen- cy requirements set out in the Minimum Competency Code and Regulations 2017 (MCC). The following taxes, levies, and duties are applied to insurance policies. ies and Legislative Guidance . 2.3 Taxation of Premium • Non-life insurance policies attract a quarterly levy of EUR1 stamp duty on insurance policies where the risk is located in Ireland and the premium or premiums payable over a period of 12 months is EUR20 or greater. • Non-life insurance policies also attract a levy of 3% on the gross amount received by an insurer in respect of certain non-life insurance premiums. An additional 2% contribution to the Insurance Com- pensation Fund applies to premiums received on
non-life insurance policies (this will be reduced to 1% from 1 January 2026). • Life assurance premiums are subject to a 1% levy on gross premiums. Health insurance attracts levies that, depending on the cover, range from EUR94 to EUR469 in respect of relevant contracts renewed or entered into on or after 1 April 2025. 3. Overseas Firms Doing Business in the Jurisdiction 3.1 Overseas-Based Insurers or Reinsurers Licensing of (Re)insurance Companies Undertakings wishing to carry on (re)insurance busi- ness in Ireland must obtain authorisation from the CBI or another EU regulator through the “single pass- port” regime. The CBI has published a checklist for completing and submitting applications for authori- sation under the 2015 Regulations (the “Checklist”), along with a guidance paper to assist applicants. The application comprises the completed Checklist and a detailed business plan, plus supporting documents (the “Business Plan”), submitted after a preliminary meeting with the CBI. The principal areas considered by the CBI in evaluat- ing applications include: • legal structure; • ownership structure; • overview of the group to which the applicant belongs (if relevant); • scheme of operations; • system of governance, including the F&P of key personnel; • risk management system; • capital requirements and solvency projections; and • consumer issues (such as the MCC and the CPC). A high-level overview of the application for the author- isation process is as follows: • own risk and solvency assessment; • financial information and projections;
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