Investors who wish to open an insurance/reinsurance business in Romania can read this article written by our lawyers in Romania. For more details, our team can answer specific questions.
Table of Contents
What is an insurer?
An insurer is a Romanian legal person authorized under law no.32/2000 to carry on an insurance business, the branch or the subsidiary of an insurer from a foreign country and the branch of an insurance company or a mutual company in a Member State which has received a permit from the competent authority of the Member State of origin;
Insurance activities are grouped into:
- a) life insurance;
- b) general insurance.
When they open a company, investors need to choose the activities that they will undertake. Our Romanian lawyers can provide more details on the NACE codes.
Who can start an insurance business?
The insurance business in Romania may be exercised only by:
- a) Romanian legal entities established as joint stock companies and / or mutual company authorized by the Insurance Supervisory Commission;
- b) an insurer or reinsurer authorized in the Member States, which carries on insurance and reinsurance in Romania under the right of establishment and freedom to provide services;
- c) branches belonging to parent company governed by the law of a foreign country authorized by the Insurance Supervisory Commission,
- d) the subsidiaries of insurers or reinsurers from foreign countries, authorized by the Insurance Supervisory Commission,
- e) an insurer or reinsurer that take the form of a European stock company (SE – Societas Europaea).
For more information on opening a European company, please consult our article on the subject.
Insurers authorized in accordance with the law previously mentioned may carry out insurance business in the territory of any Member State through a branch, with prior notice to the Insurance Supervisory Commission. Our team of lawyers in Romania can help you open an insurance company and can also assist you through the VAT registration procedure in Romania.
Entrepreneurs who open a company can also consider buying property in Romania that will serve as the company’s registered office or headquarters. While this is not mandatory, investors can take this into account as an investment in a developing and growing real estate market, especially in certain key cities in the country. Our team of lawyers will give you more details about the steps needed to buy properties.
What are the terms for opening such a business?
The Insurance Supervisory Commission authorizes insurers, reinsurers and insurance and / or reinsurance brokers undertaking to carry out insurance, reinsurance or insurance intermediation.
The Insurance Supervisory Commission may grant authorization if the following conditions are cumulatively fulfilled:
- a) draft a feasibility study, preparing all risks of a class, and in case the insurer wishes to cover only certain risks included in the class, for those risks only; the study will include at least the following information and documents:
- nature of the commitments or risk the insurer wishes to cover;
- actuarial calculation methods used to determine the technical reserves;
- the principles of the reinsurance program and lthe ist of reinsurers;
- the safety fund components;
- the financial resources to cover the expenses;
- the first three financial years, the feasibility study that will also include:
- b) the estimation of the costs related to executive management and and to management positions specific to the insurance domain;
- c) the estimation of bonuses and damages;
- d) the budget of income and expenses;
- d) the estimation of the financial resources necessary for creating technical reserves and solvency margin;
- f) an adequate information technology system with the purpose of an optimal performance of the insurance business that the company wants to practice.
Our lawyers in Romania can provide more details about preparing the documents.
An insurer or reinsurer must be in working relations with at least an actuary for the entire period of time that the company is active. This condition is also valid in order to obtain the function authorization.
An actuary is a physical person registered in the Actuaries Register, specialized in risk assessment by statistical methods which, in insurance, are used to calculate bonuses, technical reserves and annuities;
An insurer shall not be registered in the Trade Register without notice for registration issued by the Insurance Supervisory Commission.
The decision to grant a permit issued by the President of the Insurance Supervisory Commission shall determine the date from which the insurer will begin to operate. Should you need assistance for obtaining this special license, please reach out to the experts at our Romanian law firm.
Are there any taxes I need to pay?
Insurance companies are exempt from VAT payment.
An insurer seeking authorization must pay a licensing fee of 40,000 RON. The amount of the authorization fee could be annually updated by decision of the Insurance Supervisory Commission, according to the price index announced by the National Commission for Statistics.
The insurer pays, since the granting of authorization to operate, during its validity, an operation fee, determined annually by the Insurance Supervisory Commission, that amounts to a maximum of 0.5% of the gross premiums earned during the period for which they are due.
Our law firm in Romania provides consultation on the matter of company registration; our legal team offers the best solutions adapted to the particularities of each case. For more information on the subject, please contact one of our Romanian lawyers for a free consultation on the inquiries regarding an insurance company registration.