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 INSTRUCTIONS TO INSURANCE INTERMEDIARIES

After the enactment of Law 4583/2018 -as from its publication on 18.12.2018 and with the effect of its transitional provisions- insurance intermediaries should know and act according to the following:

The category of insurance advisors -registered with the EEA special registry before 01.01.2017- merged automatically with the category of insurance agent and acquired a new special register since 18.02.2019. The automatic merger will continue gradually for another two years, for those insurance advisors registered after 01.01.2017 with the EEA special registry, based on the date of completion of their two-year registration in so far of course as they do not transfer to another category after the successful completion of exams by the Bank of Greece.

Any transfer of natural or legal persons to another category of insurance intermediary -of the three categories in force, namely the insurance agent, the insurance agent coordinator and the insurance and reinsurance broker, requires the following:

  1. The adjustment of the purpose of their new activity on the basis of the required modification in the new Activity Code Numbers (KAD) which in respect of the individual businesses is achieved by the submission of the modification declaration to the competent Tax Office which you will submit to EEA, while legal entities will initially need to modify their tradename (main activity of insurance intermediation), purpose (reference to the provisions of Law 4583/2018 as well as to the website of the Bank of Greece) and, if necessary, their management and, subsequently, after the issuance of the relevant GCR announcement, these activities should be declared to the competent Tax Office. It is noted that as regards the KAD number corresponding to each activity you will be informed by a relevant post on our Chamber’s official website when their matching is completed (despite the continuous efforts of EEA management members, the competent authorities have not yet issued new KAD numbers and especially to our request for matching so as to avoid any hassle and expense of our members).

In respect of these modifications we attach our relevant form in relation to the tradename, purpose and management…

All new articles of association shall be submitted online via the One-Stop-Service, whereas any modifications to the articles of association shall be submitted online to GCR, followed by a communication, declaration of activity code numbers (KAD) to the competent Tax Office and submission thereof together with the required registration or renewal supporting documents – pursuant to articles 21 and 22 of Law 4583/2018 – to the EEA Registry department. It should be noted that from the supporting documents relied on for the renewal of insurance intermediaries’ licenses, as concerns the attestation of the competent Tax Office on non-interruption of activity, a personalized information form from TAXIS will suffice.

TRADENAME OF LEGAL PERSONS HAVING AS THEIR PURPOSE INSURANCE INTERMEDIATION

The tradename of the company having as its main activity insurance intermediation should properly include this specific activity. It should therefore be explicitly stated that it concerns an insurance agent – insurance broker (and reinsurer) – insurance agent coordinator.

The capacities of the insurance agent and the insurance agent coordinator may be held by the same person and may co-exist in the purpose and in the tradename of the legal persons.

However, the capacities of insurance broker and insurance agent or insurance agent coordinator MAY NOT be held by the same person and co-exist in the purpose and in the tradename of legal persons since co-operation between insurance intermediaries is ONLY permitted if they are registered in the same category.

ACTIVITY AND PURPOSE DEFINITIONS

GENERAL DEFINITION OF INSURANCE INTERMEDIARY

Insurance intermediary” means any natural or legal person who undertakes or performs on a fee distribution of insurance products. Insurance or reinsurance undertakings and their employees, as well as the insurance intermediary carrying out insurance intermediation as a secondary activity are not included in the above definition.

Insurance intermediaries having their registered office in Greece are divided into the following categories:

(a) insurance agents; 

(b) insurance agent coordinators; and 

(c) insurance and reinsurance brokers. 

More specifically:

Insurance Agent” means the natural or legal person who distributes insurance products in the name and on behalf of one or more insurance undertakings (KAD number 66221001).

Insurance agents include credit institutions, investment firms and agricultural cooperatives, in so far as they distribute insurance products.

Insurance Agent Coordinator” means the natural or legal person who distributes insurance products via a group of insurance agents, which the coordinator selects and proposes to insurance undertakings for co-operation and subsequently trains and supervises their work in order to ensure the implementation of the cooperating insurance undertakings’ distribution policies and procedures, without the coordinator concluding contracts with them (KAD number is expected…).

Insurance and reinsurance broker” means the natural or legal person who, by written order of the client, performs the activity of distributing insurance and reinsurance products on the basis of an analysis of a sufficient number of insurance contracts placed on the market, without being bound as to the choice of insurance or reinsurance undertaking (KAD 66221005).

ONLY the activity of Insurance Broker includes the distribution of reinsurance products, which consists of provision of advice, proposal or preparation activities for the conclusion of reinsurance contracts, conclusion thereof or assistance during the conclusion and management of reinsurance contracts, in particular where a claim arises, including activities undertaken by a reinsurance undertaking without the intervention of a reinsurance intermediary.

In addition, in the field of distribution of insurance products in Greece, there are also insurance intermediaries who carry out insurance intermediation as a secondary activity. This category includes any natural or legal person, except for credit institutions or investment firms or agricultural cooperatives, which undertake and perform on a fee distribution of insurance products as a secondary activity, provided that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • the main business activity of that natural or legal person is not the distribution of insurance products;
  • the natural or legal person distributes only certain insurance products that complement a good or service provided by the intermediary as a main business activity; and
  • the relevant insurance products do not cover life insurance or civil liability risks, unless such coverage complements the good or service provided by the intermediary as a main business activity.

All of the above, as well as insurance undertakings, consist of the statutory distributors of insurance products.

Therefore, since all three categories of insurance intermediaries are distributors of insurance products, THE REFERENCE IN THE PURPOSE of a more detailed description of the definition of insurance distribution below IS PERMISSIBLE.

Distribution of insurance products are the activities of advising, proposing or carrying out preparatory work for the conclusion of insurance contracts, concluding insurance contracts or assisting in the management and execution of such contracts, in particular where a claim arises, including the provision of information in respect of on one or more insurance contracts, based on criteria selected by the customer via a website or other medium and provision of an insurance products ranking list, including price and product comparison or provision of discount on the insurance contract price when the customer is able to conclude, directly or indirectly, an insurance contract, using a website or other means.

THE REPRESENTATION OF LEGAL PERSONS HAVING AS THEIR MAIN PURPOSE INSURANCE INTERMEDIATION

It is made EXCLUSIVELY by persons who are either already registered in one of the three categories of insurance intermediaries or fulfil the conditions, on the basis of the required supporting documents of article 21 of Law 4583/2018, thereby confer the insurance intermediary license corresponding to their qualifications to the legal person to whom it is issued and exercised by. The article (of the articles of association) on the representation must include a reference to the lack of the possibility of replacing such representative by another natural or legal person who does not have the qualifications required for the category of insurance mediation which consists its purpose.

The provisions of article 22 of Law 4583/2018 state the necessary supporting documents for the exercise of insurance intermediation as secondary activity. The differentiation in comparison to the required supporting documents for those who are registered as exercising insurance intermediation as a main activity IS FOUND in two supporting documents and more specifically in attestation under reference (e) of the insurance undertaking on behalf of which he/she is acting or is authorized to act, indicating that the insurance undertaking in question has assumed full professional liability for the actions of the intermediary in relation to the promoted products INSTEAD of the insurance policy required by those carrying out insurance intermediation as a main activity and in the attestation under reference (f) referred to in paragraph 5 of article 20 (… 5. Insurance undertakings using distribution services of insurance intermediaries, who carry out insurance intermediation as a secondary activity, shall submit to the competent chamber a written statement that the knowledge and skills of persons who, without being members of the managing body of such insurance intermediaries, have been authorized and are responsible for the distribution of insurance products and of their employees directly involved in such activity, comply with the requirements of paragraph 1, in order for such intermediaries to be registered with the special register referred to in article 19 in accordance with article 22.)