BRAZIL Law and Practice Contributed by: Thiago Junqueira and Daniel Barreto Gelbecke, Junqueira & Gelbecke Advogados
to experience a transitional period, during which juris- prudence will gradually realign with the new statutory framework. 2. Regulation of Insurance and Reinsurance 2.1 Insurance and Reinsurance Regulatory Bodies and Legislative Guidance Insurance and reinsurance activities in Brazil are sub- ject to intensive regulatory oversight, combining a comprehensive statutory framework with a dense and detailed body of administrative regulation. The institutional architecture of the sector is primarily set out in Decree-Law No 73/1966, which established the National System of Private Insurance. Within this framework, regulatory and supervisory functions are mainly exercised by two authorities: • the National Council of Private Insurance (CNSP), which is responsible for defining general policy guidelines and regulatory principles applicable to the insurance and reinsurance market; and • the Superintendence of Private Insurance (SUSEP), which acts as the executive supervisory authority, issuing binding regulations, granting licences and authorisations, and supervising insurers, reinsur- ers, insurance brokers and other regulated market participants. More recently, Complementary Law No 213/2025 amended Decree-Law No 73/1966 to broaden the regulatory perimeter of the National System of Private Insurance, expressly bringing insurance co-operatives ( sociedades cooperativas de seguros ) and mutual property protection arrangements ( proteção patri - monial mutualista ) within the scope of the CNSP and SUSEP. In practical terms, these new participants are now expected to follow the framework of authorisa- tion, supervision and rulemaking applicable to tradi- tional insurers and other regulated entities, including transitional pathways for the regularisation of pre- existing mutual protection associations. The reinsurance market is specifically governed by Complementary Law No 126/2007, which estab-
lishes the legal regime for reinsurance, retrocession and related transactions, including the participation of local, admitted and occasional reinsurers. Brazil adopts a regulated open reinsurance model, under which cross-border reinsurance is permitted, subject to registration, reporting and contractual require- ments. In practice, regulatory acts issued by the CNSP and SUSEP, primarily in the form of resolutions, play a cen- tral role in shaping market conduct and operations. Together, they regulate prudential requirements, con- duct-of-business standards, corporate governance, policy wording parameters, group insurance arrange- ments, claims-handling procedures, and operational and reporting obligations. This regulatory framework applies across all major lines of insurance, including damage insurance, liability insurance, motor insur- ance, surety, life and personal safety insurance, as well as reinsurance, retrocession and coinsurance. Notably, current regulation provides for increased contractual autonomy in damage insurance covering large risks, allowing greater flexibility in policy word- ing and risk allocation, with more limited regulatory standardisation compared to mass market insurance products. From an international standpoint, Brazil is not a party to multilateral treaties specifically governing insurance or reinsurance, unlike some other jurisdictions. Cross- border insurance and reinsurance relationships are therefore addressed mainly under Brazilian domes- tic law, including the application rules set out in the Insurance Contract Act and in reinsurance legislation, together with general principles of private international law. Subject to statutory nuances, insurance disputes tend to be connected to Brazilian law and Brazilian forums. Arbitration and other forms of alternative dis- pute resolution are expressly permitted and, where agreed by the parties, are commonly structured to take place in Brazil and to be governed by Brazilian law. Overall, the Brazilian regulatory model is character- ised by a high degree of normative detail and active supervisory intervention, aimed at promoting financial stability, market integrity, consumer and policyholder protection, and legal certainty – features that are par-
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