ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Santiago J. Mora, Nicolas Garfunkel, Milagros Caneda and May Steward, GPG Advisory Partners
8. Insurtech 8.1 Underwriting Processes
10. Blockchain 10.1 Use of Blockchain in the Financial Services Industry Many traditional players are using (or are planning to use) blockchain technology in order to improve the processing, management and storage of information, as well as to automate the execution of certain pro - cesses, execute transnational payments and enhance their traceability and security, and tokenise and trade financial assets. Research and exercises are currently being carried out between financial institutions and private sector providers. 10.2 Local Regulators’ Approach to Blockchain There is no integral specific regulation regarding blockchain technology in Argentina. However, it is generally understood that the existing regulations in the DSL and the CCC regarding digital documents, and electronic and digital signatures, are sufficient to allow the use of blockchain technology (although, in practice, this should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis), while in certain cases there may be a pre- existing regulation that stipulates some requirement or process that is incompatible with this technology. Without prejudice to the above, progress in blockchain regulation continues at a steady pace, and the out - look appears favourable. For example, in July 2024, through Decree 640/2024, the Argentine government approved the tokenisation of assets by updating the warrant regime governed by Law No 9643. This update allows for the electronic registration and block - chain-based trading of warrants. The decree includes authorisation for the use of electronic signatures to validate warrant transactions on the blockchain and eliminates the requirement for deposits to be officially registered as depositors and warrant issuers. Moreover, as highlighted in 1.1 Evolution of the Fin- tech Market , the CNV issued resolutions regulating the tokenisation of certain securities through a sand - box initiative, with the aim of fostering the develop - ment of blockchain-related projects.
In recent years, the insurance contracting process has become increasingly flexible and agile by taking advantage of the possibilities of digitalisation. For example, the SSN has allowed insurance companies to issue policies with digital signatures, and to receive instructions from their customers through digital plat - forms. In addition, with the increased ability to obtain and process information about policyholders and the risks that fall on insured assets, insurance companies have been steadily improving their results. 8.2 Treatment of Different Types of Insurance Each of the different types of insurance (eg, life, prop - erty and casualty) has its specific regulation, as pro - vided by the IL and SSN rules, mainly set up before the rise of insurtech. See 2.2 Regulatory Regime , 2.8 Outsourcing of Reg- ulated Functions and 2.11 Implications of Additional, Non-Financial Services Regulations . 9.2 Contractual Terms to Ensure Performance and Accuracy Contractual terms regarding the provision of technol - ogy services are established on a case-by-case basis from the negotiations of the respective parties, since the outcome of such negotiations will vary on a case- by-case basis according to the negotiating strength of each party in a particular case. Financial services firms try to impose the following contractual terms on technology providers, among others: • a guarantee for the operation and service; • a guarantee for compliance with all applicable laws; • a guarantee not to affect third-party rights; and • fines for breach of deadlines. 9. Regtech 9.1 Regulation of Regtech Providers
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