Insurance

What is the legal framework concerning private insurance in Greece?

The Greek private insurance business is currently regulated by the following legislation:

a) Insurance Companies Law

A new law has been adopted on 29.01.2016 by the Greek Parliament, implementing Solvency II Directive 2009/138/EC. The new law repeals and recasts Legislative Decree 400/1970, as in force, regarding the framework of operation (licensing, solvency requirements etc.) and supervision of private insurance undertakings.

b) Insurance Contract Law

Law 2496/1997 regulates the terms and conditions under which an insurance contract is concluded (articles 1-34). It governs the relations between insurers and insureds, and their rights and obligations, discriminating in favor of the insured (being the weaker party).

c) Insurance intermediaries

Law 1596/85 as amended by Law 2170/93, and Presidential Decree 190/2006 which incorporates Directive 2002/92/EC, set the rules according to which insurance intermediaries operate in Greece.

Following the recent adoption of the new Insurance Distribution Directive (known as IDD Directive), the above legal framework is likely to be amended as from 23.2. 2018.

Where do insurers stand in Greece as they enter 2019?

(Re)insurance companies and (re)insurance intermediaries in Greece are supervised by the Department of Private Insurance Supervision of the Bank of Greece (hereinafter the “BoG”). Pursuant to its 2017-2018 Monetary Policy Report, as of 31.12.2017 BoG supervises 42 insurers, of which 3 are life, 22 general and 17 composite insurers; 5 companies belong to Greek groups and 15 to non-Greek groups. In addition, according to data of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), 183 EU insurers operate in Greece either under the FOE or under the FOS regime.

The insurance sector has been affected by the Greek financial crisis. A considerable shrinking owing to the acute financial crisis threw the private insurance sector turnover from 5,3bn in 2010 down to 3,1bn in 2014. However, the premium production rose again to a promising 3,7bn in 2017, almost equally shared between life and non life insurance, keeping a positive trend in 2018. The premium production in the first quarter of 2018 marked a 3,5% increase, compared to that of 2017. From a solvency aspect, the Greek insurance market shows in 2018 a good solvency record ranking in Tier 1 for 95% of eligible capital.