Legal Report – Law of Insurance Activity

BENSON, PEREZ MATOS, ANTAKLY & WATTS

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Caracas, December 20, 2023

LEGAL REPORT

1. NORM

Law on the Reform of the Decree with Rank, Value, and Force of LAW OF THE INSURANCE ACTIVITY and whose definitive name will be the Law of the Insurance Activity.

OFFICIAL GAZETTE
Official Gazette No. 6,770 Extraordinary, dated November 29, 2023, effective 120 calendar days after publication.

2. OBJECT

The purpose of the Law is to establish the regulatory framework for the authorization, regulation, operation, control, supervision, and surveillance of insurance activity, as well as to protect the general interest represented by the rights and guarantees of policyholders, beneficiaries, contractors, users and affiliates, of insurance, reinsurance, prepaid medicine, and risk management contracts.
The scope of application is all insurance activity carried out by the subjects regulated by law, which is extended to natural or legal persons who carry out legal operations and businesses classified as insurance activity.
The regulatory and supervisory body of the insurance activity is the Superintendence of Insurance Activity. The income of the Superintendency shall consist of, inter alia, special contributions made by regulated subjects, fees for services rendered, and exceptional contributions imposed on the subjects covered by this Law.

3. NEW ASPECTS OF THE REFORM

  1. It encourages using physical, digital, technological, and financial technology (FINTECH) means and alternative channels as tools to facilitate the marketing of insurance products. Alternative channels are considered legal entities in the financial sector, public or private services, commercial or industrial establishments, guilds, and associations that agree with the insurer to facilitate its infrastructure, technological assets, and relationship with affiliates or potential insured to acquire insurance products.
  2. It contemplates new modalities of prepaid medical insurance: Microinsurance, Inclusive Insurance, and Mass Insurance, which cover specific risks of vulnerable socioeconomic sectors and social sectors excluded or underserved by the coverage available in the insurance market.
  3. Determines that the reference exchange rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela will apply to:
    • Service fees and constitution of regulated subjects: the value of the day immediately before the date on which the request is made.
    • Adjustments to the minimum capital: the value of the date of the shareholders’ meeting that agrees to it.
    • Administrative penalties: the value on the date the offense was committed.
  4. Provides that regulated entities shall design, implement, and maintain a Comprehensive Risk Management System for Money Laundering, Financing of Terrorism, and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction by the rules determined for that purpose by the Superintendence.
  5. The deadline for regulated entities to submit to the Superintendence, among other collections, the financial statements, external audit report, management report of the board of directors, minutes of the shareholders’ meeting with the list of shareholders and members of the board of directors corresponding to the fiscal year of the account is changed to 60 days following the end of the financial year.
  6. Orders the Superintendency to set up a directorate for the ombudsman of policyholders, insured persons, beneficiaries, contractors, users, and affiliates. Likewise, insurance and prepaid medicine companies must have in their structure the Defense Unit to attend to and receive complaints, claims, or complaints from users.
  7. Reformulate the maximum period for the payment of compensation by insurance companies, prepaid medicine companies, and risk managers to 20 calendar days following the date of delivery of the last collection or loss adjustment report.
  8. Ratifies the non-validity of insurance or prepaid medicine contracts entered into with foreign companies when the risk is located in the national territory or reinsurance operations carried out with foreign companies not registered in the corresponding registry, except for those provided for in international agreements validly signed and ratified by the Republic.
  9. Cancels the registration of commercial companies registered with the Superintendence that are incorporated in jurisdictions classified as low tax by SENIAT.

4. REPEALS

  1. Decree with Rank, Value and Force of the Law on Insurance Activity, No. 2,178, published in Official Gazette No. 6,211 Extraordinary, reprinted due to material error in Official Gazette No. 6,220 Extraordinary dated March 15, 2016.
  2. Decree with Force of Law for Strengthening the Insurance Sector, No. 1.312, published in Official Gazette No. 5.554 of 13 November 2001.

Cordially Yours,
BENSON, PÉREZ MATOS, ANTAKLY & WATTS

Angela C. Antakly Heredia

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