Article

| February 22, 2011

Country Q&A: Insurance and Reinsurance in Italy

Italy has a well-established and concentrated insurance market where Assicurazioni Generali (the largest Italian company and one of the oldest and most globalised) holds a 25% market share. According to the annual report of the supervisory authority on insurance companies (Istituto per la vigilanza sulle assicurazioni private e di interesse collettivo) (ISVAP), as of 31 December 2009, there were 156 companies incorporated under Italian law comprising:

  • Life insurance companies: 64.
  • Non-life insurance companies: 78.
  • Composite companies: 14.
  • Business branches with head offices in a non-EU country: three.

There were also 75 established business branches in Italy with head offices in other EU member states, and 922 European businesses operating under the freedom to provide services rule.

Of the branches licensed to pursue business in Italy, their head offices were based in:

  • The UK: 40%.
  • France: 15%.
  • Germany: 13%.
  • Ireland: 12%.
  • Austria and Luxembourg: 5%.
  • Belgium: 4%.
  • The Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, and Liechtenstein: 1%.

This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues. It is not considered to be legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations. For additional information on this important topic, please feel free to call upon your Dewey & LeBoeuf relationship partner. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form, without our prior written consent. For further information on Dewey & LeBoeuf, please visit www.dl.com. +1 888 532 6383