ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Giovanna Aucone and Debora Gobbo, FIVERS Studio Legale e Tributario
• COVIP ( Commissione di Vigilanza sui Fondi Pen - sione – Pension Fund Supervisory Commission) exercises the supervision over supplementary pension schemes, including individual insurance- based pension plans (PIP) and pan-European personal pension products (PEPP), pursuing transparency and fairness of conduct, a sound and prudent management, and the solidity of the pen- sion products. The collaboration between the national supervisory authorities is regulated by a memorandum of under- standing entered into by the authorities. For cross-border activities at pan-European level, Italian supervisory authorities rely on the principle of “home country control” and co-operation between authorities based on the guidelines for the co-oper- ation between authorities provided by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA). However, in some areas, such as market con- duct and the compliance with rules of general inter- est, IVASS exercises its supervisory activity also on European undertakings operating on the Italian market under the principles of freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment. 2.2 Writing of Insurance and Reinsurance The requirements and limitations for undertakings entitled to write insurance and reinsurance business in Italy are established in the Code of Private Insur- ance, Title II “Access to the insurance business” and Title V “Access to the reinsurance business”. Such requirements include: • organisation in the form of a joint-stock limited company, a co-operative society or a mutual insur- ance company whose quotas are represented by shares, as well as in the form of a European com- pany and a European co-operative society (SCE); • establishment of the general and administrative management in the territory of the Republic of Italy; • holding of own funds covering the absolute mini- mum of the Minimum Capital Requirement; • proof that the undertaking will be able to hold the eligible “own funds” necessary to cover the Sol- vency Capital Requirement;
• filing of a programme of planned business activi- ties; • holders of qualifying holdings meeting the integrity requirements set up by the CAP; and • implementing a system of corporate governance that respects the minimum requirements estab- lished by the CAP. The pursuit of insurance activities in the life and non- life sectors, as classified under the Private Insurance Code, is reserved by insurance companies that are registered in the register of insurance companies and reinsurance companies and its annexes held by IVASS. Insurance and reinsurance companies having their registered office in Italy or a third country (ie, not one of the EU member states) have to be author- ised by IVASS; whereas undertakings from another member state may operate in the Italian market on the basis of the principles of freedom to provide services (FOS) and freedom of establishment (FOE). On the secondary level, the requirements for being entitled to write insurance and reinsurance business in Italy are regulated by ISVAP Regulation No 10/2008 (issued by IVASS). The writing of insurance and reinsurance business by an undertaking from an EU member state, acting in Italy under the principles of freedom to provide ser- vices or the freedom of establishment, are regulated under Articles 23 to 27 of the CAP (for further details, refer to 3. Overseas Firms Doing Business in the Jurisdiction ). With few limited exceptions, an insurance undertaking may be active either in the life or non-life insurance sector. To obtain the authorisation to operate in Italy, insur- ance and reinsurance undertakings have to cover the Minimum Capital Requirement and the Solvency Capi- tal Requirement. The CAP does not establish special requirements for the writing of consumer insurance, SME insurance or corporate insurance. Special protection for consumer interests is implemented on the level of the insurance contract.
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