LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alexander Ospelt, Lukas-Florian Gilhofer, Vivianne Auer and Laura Bayer, Ospelt & Partner Attorneys at Law Ltd
2.2 Writing of Insurance and Reinsurance In principle, the insurer and reinsurer, within the scope of application of the VersAG, must obtain an insurance licence from the FMA before engaging in any regu- lated activities regardless of the policyholder’s objec- tive – ie, writing insurance and/or reinsurance busi- ness (Article 11 paragraph 1 of the VersAG). The main licence requirements are set out in Articles 12 and 13 of the VersAG. The VersAG differentiates between direct insurance activities and reinsurance activities. Excess layer insurance is not a further category of insurance activities under the VersAG. According to Articles 12 and 13 of the VersAG, the main criteria for obtaining a (re-)insurance licence are the complete transmission of a licence application and a business plan. The following list provides an overview of essential declarations and documents that must be included in the licence application. • The statutes of the company. The company must be established in the legal form of a public limited company, a European company (SE), a cooperative or a European cooperative society (SCE) (Article 14 paragraph 1 of the VersAG)). Only registered shares are permitted for public limited companies. • The organisation and local scope of activity of the company and, if applicable, the group or financial conglomerates to which the company belongs. • The opening financial statements of the most recent three business years of the shareholders and, if applicable, a consolidated report. • Evidence that eligible basic own funds are available to cover the absolute floor of the Minimum Capital Requirement; pursuant to Article 51 paragraph 2 of the VersAG, the Minimum Capital Requirement must not fall below the following amounts: • EUR2.5 million or the equivalent in Swiss francs for non-life insurance companies, including captive insurance companies; • EUR3.7 million or the equivalent in Swiss francs for non-life insurance companies, including captive insurance companies, if all or several of the risks listed in one of classes ten to 15 in Annex 1, letter A, are to be covered;
quence that the same rules apply. However, there are special provisions for certain types of insurers. Special provisions apply to the consolidated supervision of insurance groups and insurance conglomerates (Arti- cle 194 et seq of the VersAG). Consolidated group supervision applies in addition to individual supervi- sion by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority ( Finanzmarktaufsicht Liechtenstein , FMA) of Liechten- stein insurers (or other regulated Liechtenstein enti- ties). (Re-)insurers as well as insurance intermediaries must be licensed by the FMA before they can conduct insurance business. The FMA supervises all activities of Liechtenstein (re-)insurance and insurance interme- diaries and, in this context, also ensures proper super- vision of the cross-border activities of Liechtenstein (re-)insurance intermediaries in the EEA and Switzer- land. The FMA carries out its activities on the basis of the FMAG and the VersAG. The FMA ensures the stability of the Liechtenstein financial market, the protection of clients, the preven- tion of abuse, and the implementation of and com- pliance with recognised international standards. For this reason, it takes a strict approach to ensure that insurers comply with the applicable laws and supervi- sory rules. In principle, however, and based on to our experience, the FMA cooperates with the regulated companies. The international cooperation of the FMA is naturally strongly influenced by Liechtenstein’s membership in the EEA, and Liechtenstein is also closely involved in the European supervisory structure. The FMA has observer status in all three European financial super- visory authorities: the European Banking Author- ity (EBA), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), and the European Securi- ties and Markets Authority (ESMA). The FMA is also a member of the most important global supervisory bodies. These include the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), and the International Organisation of Occupational Pensions Supervisors (IOPS).
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