An insurance company or also an insurance company is an enterprise (predominantly private economical), insurance transactions operates. Other financial services (e.g. the construction financing and capitalization business of the life insurers) may be offered in Germany only than additional service or on strange calculation - i.e. than mediators for another offerer -.

History

To in 17. Century insurance of individuals or of guilds and Gilden was taken over. Only starting from center 17. Century developed the first insurance companies. It concerned fire and (sea) transport insurance predominantly. The first German insurance company was those Hamburg fire cash (1676), the first public insurance company the citizens of Berlin fire partnership (1718).

National control

Due to their central economical role insurance companies (exactly the same as banks) in Germany are subject to special national control. The central regulation under Federal law is the law over the supervision of the insurance companies (law of supervision of insurance - VAG). The VAG regulates among other things permission, business concern, legals form, investments and supervision. Responsible supervisory authority is the Federal Institution for supervision of financial service (BAFin), responsible competent ministry is the Federal Ministry for finances.

In Germany approximately 1,400 insurance companies are certified to the course of business (02,2004 stood). A complete list is in the Internet offer of the Federal Institution for supervision of financial service (BAFin).

During the further view in the German insurance market active enterprises must be differentiated carefully between actually with respect to Germany the residents and the foreign insurance companies. Foreign insurance companies (e.g. standard Life, Canada Life) become certified in Germany explicitly the course of business, are subject however in the principle of the supervision of their countries of origin. The following remarks can be transferred therefore only very reduced to these enterprises.

Organization

In Germany the insurance transaction can be operated only in the legal form cooperative insurance company on mutuality, the corporation or the institute or body of the public right. Beyond that there is the principle of the section separation, i.e. the life, ill, legal protection and the remaining harming and accident insurance business must be operated in principle by legally in each case independent insurance companies. The section separation entails the company formation, since only so all types of insurance from a hand can be offered. Who locks a life, for example with its alliance representative an ill and a liability insurance, in reality with three different, legally independent insurance companies locked.

Protection of interests

In Germany residents private-economical insurance companies united in the general association of the German insurance economy registered association (GDV). The GDV is one of the most powerful political lobbies in Germany, not least, because the insurance companies invest a large portion of their capital in Federal loans and thus as group the largest creditor of the Federal Republic of Germany are.

The Swiss association of underwriters (SVV) represents the interests of the insurance enterprises in Switzerland.

See also

Registrar, collateral insurance

Related links

• http://www.bafin.de
• http://www.gdv.de
• http://www.svv.ch

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