Designation of Correspondents abroad

Designation of correspondents of Swiss companies abroad

The approval process of correspondents is regulated by art. 4 ff. of the Internal Regulations (agreement between bureaux of insurance).

The approval process serves to ensure a comprehensive and mutual exchange of information in international relations. It guarantees that approvals are granted consistently within the entire Green Card system. Moreover, the approval process allows to forward claims to the responsible correspondents without delay.

Process

The process is initiated by a request submitted to the NBI by a Swiss insurer. The request has to contain the exact designation and the address of the correspondent. Furthermore, the precise date when representation shall begin must be mentioned.

The request must additionally be supported by a written confirmation that the proposed correspondent accepts the requested approval.

Request and confirmation are addressed to the foreign bureau of insurance by the NBI. The foreign bureau of insurance shall grant or refuse the approval within three months.  

The foreign bureau of insurance verifies whether the conditions for an approval are met:

  1. First of all, the foreign bureau of insurance verifies whether the designated correspondent meets the conditions of admission of the respective country.
     
  2. If the Swiss insurer has already been represented by another correspondent in the respective country, the foreign bureau of insurance is obliged to verify furthermore whether that correspondent has received full compensation for his services before granting the approval.
     
  3. Finally, the foreign bureau of insurance verifies whether Swiss insurers operating in exercise of the freedom of establishment in one or more EEA countries have already designated a single correspondent on the foreign territory in order to represent both their activities at the headquarters as well as in their branch offices.

If all those conditions are met, the foreign bureau of insurance grants the approval and communicates the effective date of the new representation (by returning the completed form). If the foreign bureau of insurance does not reply within three months of receipt of the request, the approval shall be deemed granted implicitly.

Examples (German and French)