Legislation concerning insurance companies
Most of the regulation concerning life and non-life insurance companies is based on the directives of the European Union.
Insurance activity is regulated by the following key acts. The acts can be found in Finlex.
Act on Insurance Companies
The act applies to Finnish insurance companies. It includes provisions on the following points concerning insurance companies
- the establishment of an insurance company
- administration
- financial statements and the annual report
- solvency requirements
- provision of investment activities
- how the technical reserves of the insurance company are covered
- supervision.
The act is supplemented by the decrees of the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health and the regulations of the Financial Supervision Authority. The act also applies to Finnish reinsurance companies.
Act on Foreign Insurance Companies
Is applied to insurance companies in the EEA states and third countries.
Act on Earnings-related Pension Insurance Companies
The act ensures that earnings-related pension insurance companies are independent of the other insurance companies in the same group, the company’s owners and financial institutions. For example, the act contains provisions on the ownership of the assets of the earnings-related pension insurance company, the company’s investment activities and the representation of employer and employee organisations in the board of directors and the supervisory board of the insurance company.
The act contains special provisions that apply only to earnings-related pension insurance companies. The Act on Insurance Companies is applied to earnings-related pension providers as an additional act.
Act and Decree on Company Pension Funds and Act on Insurance Funds
The act and the decree are applied to company pension funds established by employers.
- Act on Company Pension Funds 1774/1995 (in Finnish)
- Decree on Company Pension Funds 1778/1995 (in Finnish)
The provisions in the act are applied to insurance funds that conduct non-commercial insurance activities in compliance with the Employee’s or Self-employed Person’s Pensions Act or the Health Insurance Act.
- Act on Insurance Funds 1164/1992 (in Finnish)
- Decree on Insurance Funds 1665/1992 (in Finnish)
- Summary of the statement: Final report of the working group on the reform of the Act on Company Pension Funds and the Act on Insurance Funds (in Finnish)
Act on Reducing the Solvency Limit of Pension Institutions and on the Diversification of Their Investments
The act is applied to pension providers that conduct statutory pension insurance activity.
Local Mutual Insurance Associations Act
The act applies to insurance associations that are based on the mutual responsibility of the insurance holders.
Act on the Provision of Insurances
The act concerns insurers, full-time and part-time insurance agents and insurance brokers who prepare insurance contracts, provide personal recommendations and other information concerning insurance contracts, conclude insurance contracts and assist in the management and completion of insurance contracts.
Insurance Contracts Act
The act contains contractual provisions on the rights and obligations of the insurance company, the insurance holder, the persons insured, the beneficiaries and certain third persons.
In addition, insurance activities are regulated by acts on insurances and acts generally regulating business activity.
The operation of insurance companies is regulated by acts and other statutes and supervised strictly. A number of codes of practice have been established in cooperation within the sector. The codes of practice in the insurance sector can be found in the online service of Finance Finland: