[Finance] Threshold Lowered for Foreign Insurance Firm Branches

To attract more insurance companies from overseas, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) recently revised the Regulations for Establishment and Administration of Foreign Insurance Enterprises to make it easier for foreign insurers to set up branches in Taiwan. The period of inspection for violation records has been shortened from 5 years to 3, and the requirement for the parent company’s home-country registration and business license has been eliminated. Following the revision, foreign insurance companies that have been in business for less than 3 years can first set up a representative office to get familiar with local business conditions in Taiwan and then, after one year, can apply to upgrade the office to a full branch. A foreign insurance firm may, however, establish only one representative office in Taiwan. The FSC has also set out clearer rules for the business scope of the branches and representative offices of foreign insurance companies. Representative office can carry out market surveys, collection of information, and other liaison work, for example, but may not engage in business activities such as solicitation of customers, underwriting, compensation, and calculation of premium rates.