This Directive shall apply to direct life and non-life insurance undertakings which are established in the territory of a Member State or which wish to become established there.

It shall also apply to reinsurance undertakings which conduct only reinsurance activities and which are established in the territory of a Member State or which wish to become established there with the exception of Title IV.

In regard to non-life insurance, this Directive shall apply to activities of the classes set out in Part A of Annex I. For the purposes of the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, non-life insurance shall include the activity which consists of assistance provided for persons who get into difficulties while travelling, while away from their home or their habitual residence. It shall comprise an undertaking, against prior payment of a premium, to make aid immediately available to the beneficiary under an assistance contract where that person is in difficulties following the occurrence of a chance event, in the cases and under the conditions set out in the contract.

The aid may comprise the provision of benefits in cash or in kind. The provision of benefits in kind may also be effected by means of the staff and equipment of the person providing them.

The assistance activity shall not cover servicing, maintenance, after-sales service or the mere indication or provision of aid as an intermediary.

In regard to life insurance, this Directive shall apply:

Member States shall require all insurance and reinsurance undertakings to have in place an effective system of governance which provides for sound and prudent management of the business.

That system shall at least include an adequate transparent organisational structure with a clear allocation and appropriate segregation of responsibilities and an effective system for ensuring the transmission of information. It shall include compliance with the requirements laid down in Articles 42 to 49.

The system of governance shall be subject to regular internal review.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall have written policies in relation to at least risk management, internal control, internal audit and, where relevant, outsourcing. They shall ensure that those policies are implemented.

Those written policies shall be reviewed at least annually. They shall be subject to prior approval by the administrative, management or supervisory body and be adapted in view of any significant change in the system or area concerned.

The supervisory authorities shall have appropriate means, methods and powers for verifying the system of governance of the insurance and reinsurance undertakings and for evaluating emerging risks identified by those undertakings which may affect their financial soundness.

The Member States shall ensure that the supervisory authorities have the powers necessary to require that the system of governance be improved and strengthened to ensure compliance with the requirements set out in Articles 42 to 49.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall ensure that all persons who effectively run the undertaking or have other key functions at all times fulfil the following requirements:

Where the home Member State or the Member State from which the foreign national concerned comes does not issue the document referred to in paragraph 1, it may be replaced by a declaration on oath – or in Member States where there is no provision for declaration on oath by a solemn declaration – made by the foreign national concerned before a competent judicial or administrative authority or, where appropriate, a notary in the home Member State or the Member State from which that foreign national comes.

Such authority or notary shall issue a certificate attesting the authenticity of the declaration on oath or solemn declaration.

The declaration referred to in the first subparagraph in respect of no previous bankruptcy may also be made before a competent professional or trade body in the Member State concerned.

Member States shall designate the authorities and bodies competent to issue the documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof.

Each Member State shall also inform the other Member States and the Commission of the authorities or bodies to which the documents referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 are to be submitted in support of an application to pursue in the territory of that Member State the activities referred to in Article 2.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall have in place an effective risk-management system comprising strategies, processes and reporting procedures necessary to identify, measure, monitor, manage and report, on a continuous basis the risks, at an individual and at an aggregated level, to which they are or could be exposed, and their interdependencies.

That risk-management system shall be effective and well integrated into the organisational structure and in the decision-making processes of the insurance or reinsurance undertaking with proper consideration of the persons who effectively run the undertaking or have other key functions.

The risk-management system shall cover the risks to be included in the calculation of the Solvency Capital Requirement as set out in Article 101(4) as well as the risks which are not or not fully included in the calculation thereof.

The risk-management system shall cover at least the following areas:

The written policy on risk management referred to in Article 41(3) shall comprise policies relating to points (a) to (f) of the second subparagraph of this paragraph.

▼M5

Where insurance or reinsurance undertakings apply the matching adjustment referred to in Article 77b or the volatility adjustment referred to in Article 77d, they shall set up a liquidity plan projecting the incoming and outgoing cash flows in relation to the assets and liabilities subject to those adjustments.

As regards asset-liability management, insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall regularly assess:

For insurance and reinsurance undertakings using a partial or full internal model approved in accordance with Articles 112 and 113 the risk-management function shall cover the following additional tasks:

As part of its risk-management system every insurance undertaking and reinsurance undertaking shall conduct its own risk and solvency assessment.

That assessment shall include at least the following:

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall have in place an effective internal control system.

That system shall at least include administrative and accounting procedures, an internal control framework, appropriate reporting arrangements at all levels of the undertaking and a compliance function.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall provide for an effective internal audit function.

The internal audit function shall include an evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control system and other elements of the system of governance.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall provide for an effective actuarial function to:

Outsourcing of critical or important operational functions or activities shall not be undertaken in such a way as to lead to any of the following:

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 301a to further specify the following:

In order to ensure consistent harmonisation in relation to this Section, EIOPA shall, subject to Article 301b, develop draft regulatory technical standards to further specify the following:

Member States shall, taking into account the information required in paragraph 3 and the principles set out in paragraph 4 of Article 35, require insurance and reinsurance undertakings to disclose publicly, on an annual basis, a report on their solvency and financial condition.

That report shall contain the following information, either in full or by way of references to equivalent information, both in nature and scope, disclosed publicly under other legal or regulatory requirements:

The description referred to in point (e)(i) of paragraph 1 shall include an analysis of any significant changes as compared to the previous reporting period and an explanation of any major differences in relation to the value of such elements in financial statements, and a brief description of the capital transferability.

The disclosure of the Solvency Capital Requirement referred to in point (e)(ii) of paragraph 1 shall show separately the amount calculated in accordance with Chapter VI, Section 4, Subsections 2 and 3 and any capital add-on imposed in accordance with Article 37 or the impact of the specific parameters the insurance or reinsurance undertaking is required to use in accordance with Article 110, together with concise information on its justification by the supervisory authority concerned.

▼M5

However, and without prejudice to any disclosure that is mandatory under any other legal or regulatory requirements, Member States may provide that, although the total Solvency Capital Requirement referred to in paragraph 1(e)(ii) is disclosed, the capital add-on or the impact of the specific parameters the insurance or reinsurance undertaking is required to use in accordance with Article 110 need not be separately disclosed during a transitional period ending no later than 31 December 2020.

▼B

The disclosure of the Solvency Capital Requirement shall be accompanied, where applicable, by an indication that its final amount is still subject to supervisory assessment.

Without prejudice to Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010, Member States shall require the supervisory authorities to provide the following information to EIOPA on an annual basis:

EIOPA shall publicly disclose, on an annual basis, the following information:

Supervisory authorities shall permit insurance and reinsurance undertakings not to disclose information where:

In the event of any major development affecting significantly the relevance of the information disclosed in accordance with Articles 51 and 53, insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall disclose appropriate information on the nature and effects of that major development.

For the purposes of the first subparagraph, at least the following shall be regarded as major developments:

In regard to point (a) of the second subparagraph, the supervisory authorities shall require the undertaking concerned to disclose immediately the amount of non-compliance, together with an explanation of its origin and consequences, including any remedial measure taken. Where, in spite of a short-term finance scheme initially considered to be realistic, non-compliance with the Minimum Capital Requirement has not been resolved three months after its observation, it shall be disclosed at the end of that period, together with an explanation of its origin and consequences, including any remedial measures taken as well as any further remedial measures planned.

In regard to point (b) of the second subparagraph, the supervisory authorities shall require the undertaking concerned to disclose immediately the amount of non-compliance, together with an explanation of its origin and consequences, including any remedial measure taken. Where, in spite of the recovery plan initially considered to be realistic, a significant non-compliance with the Solvency Capital Requirement has not been resolved six months after its observation, it shall be disclosed at the end of that period, together with an explanation of its origin and consequences, including any remedial measures taken as well as any further remedial measures planned.

The supervisory authorities shall, promptly and in any event within two working days following receipt of the notification required under Article 57(1), as well as following the possible subsequent receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 2, acknowledge receipt thereof in writing to the proposed acquirer.

The supervisory authorities shall have a maximum of 60 working days as from the date of the written acknowledgement of receipt of the notification and all documents required by the Member State to be attached to the notification on the basis of the list referred to in Article 59(4) (the assessment period), to carry out the assessment provided for in Article 59(1) (the assessment).

The supervisory authorities shall inform the proposed acquirer of the date of the expiry of the assessment period at the time of acknowledging receipt.

The supervisory authorities may, during the assessment period, if necessary, and no later than on the fiftieth working day of the assessment period, request any further information that is necessary to complete the assessment. Such request shall be made in writing and shall specify the additional information needed.

For the period between the date of request for information by the supervisory authorities and the receipt of a response thereto by the proposed acquirer, the assessment period shall be interrupted. That interruption shall not exceed 20 working days. Any further requests by the supervisory authorities for completion or clarification of the information shall be at their discretion but shall not result in an interruption of the assessment period.

The supervisory authorities may extend the interruption referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 up to 30 working days if the proposed acquirer is:

In assessing the notification provided for in Article 57(1) and the information referred to in Article 58(2) the supervisory authorities shall, in order to ensure the sound and prudent management of the insurance or reinsurance undertaking in which an acquisition is proposed, and having regard to the likely influence of the proposed acquirer on the insurance or reinsurance undertaking, appraise the suitability of the proposed acquirer and the financial soundness of the proposed acquisition against all of the following criteria:

The relevant supervisory authorities shall work in full consultation with each other when carrying out the assessment if the proposed acquirer is one of the following:

Articles 64 and 67 shall not preclude any of the following:

The exchanges of information referred to in points (b) and (c) may also take place between different Member States.

The information received by those authorities, bodies and persons shall be subject to the obligation of professional secrecy laid down in Article 64.

Articles 64 to 67 shall not preclude Member States from authorising exchanges of information between the supervisory authorities and any of the following:

Member States which apply the first subparagraph shall require at least that the following conditions are met:

Member States shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the names of the authorities, persons and bodies which may receive information pursuant to the first and second subparagraphs.

Articles 64 to 67 shall not preclude Member States from authorising, with the aim of strengthening the stability, and integrity, of the financial system, the exchange of information between the supervisory authorities and the authorities or bodies responsible for the detection and investigation of breaches of company law.

Member States which apply the first subparagraph shall require that at least the following conditions are met:

Where, in a Member State, the authorities or bodies referred to in the first subparagraph perform their task of detection or investigation with the aid of persons appointed, in view of their specific competence, for that purpose and not employed in the public sector, the possibility of exchanging information provided for in the first subparagraph may be extended to such persons under the conditions set out in the second subparagraph.

In order to implement point (c) of the second subparagraph, the authorities or bodies referred to in the first subparagraph shall communicate to the supervisory authority from which the information originates the names and precise responsibilities of the persons to whom it is to be sent.

Without prejudice to Articles 64 to 69, a supervisory authority may transmit information intended for the performance of their tasks to the following:

Member States shall ensure that in the exercise of their duties supervisory authorities have regard to the convergence in respect of supervisory tools and supervisory practices in the application of the laws, regulations and administrative requirements adopted pursuant to this Directive. For that purpose, Member States shall ensure that:

Member States shall provide at least that persons authorised within the meaning of Eighth Council Directive 84/253/EEC of 10 April 1984 based on Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on the approval of persons responsible for carrying out the statutory audits of accounting documents ( 11 ), who perform in an insurance or reinsurance undertaking the statutory audit referred to in Article 51 of Directive 78/660/EEC, Article 37 of Directive 83/349/EEC or Article 31 of Directive 85/611/EEC or any other statutory task, shall have a duty to report promptly to the supervisory authorities any fact or decision concerning that undertaking of which they have become aware while carrying out that task and which is liable to bring about any of the following:

The persons referred to in the first subparagraph shall also report any facts or decisions of which they have become aware in the course of carrying out a task as described in the first subparagraph in an undertaking which has close links resulting from a control relationship with the insurance or reinsurance undertaking within which they are carrying out that task.

Member States shall ensure that, unless otherwise stated, insurance and reinsurance undertakings value assets and liabilities as follows:

When valuing liabilities under point (b), no adjustment to take account of the own credit standing of the insurance or reinsurance undertaking shall be made.

In order to ensure consistent harmonisation in relation to valuation of assets and liabilities, EIOPA shall, subject to Article 301b, develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify:

The best estimate shall correspond to the probability-weighted average of future cash-flows, taking account of the time value of money (expected present value of future cash-flows), using the relevant risk-free interest rate term structure.

The calculation of the best estimate shall be based upon up-to-date and credible information and realistic assumptions and be performed using adequate, applicable and relevant actuarial and statistical methods.

The cash-flow projection used in the calculation of the best estimate shall take account of all the cash in- and out-flows required to settle the insurance and reinsurance obligations over the lifetime thereof.

The best estimate shall be calculated gross, without deduction of the amounts recoverable from reinsurance contracts and special purpose vehicles. Those amounts shall be calculated separately, in accordance with Article 81.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall value the best estimate and the risk margin separately.

However, where future cash flows associated with insurance or reinsurance obligations can be replicated reliably using financial instruments for which a reliable market value is observable, the value of technical provisions associated with those future cash flows shall be determined on the basis of the market value of those financial instruments. In this case, separate calculations of the best estimate and the risk margin shall not be required.

Where insurance and reinsurance undertakings value the best estimate and the risk margin separately, the risk margin shall be calculated by determining the cost of providing an amount of eligible own funds equal to the Solvency Capital Requirement necessary to support the insurance and reinsurance obligations over the lifetime thereof.

The rate used in the determination of the cost of providing that amount of eligible own funds (Cost-of-Capital rate) shall be the same for all insurance and reinsurance undertakings and shall be reviewed periodically.

The Cost-of-Capital rate used shall be equal to the additional rate, above the relevant risk-free interest rate, that an insurance or reinsurance undertaking would incur holding an amount of eligible own funds, as set out in Section 3, equal to the Solvency Capital Requirement necessary to support insurance and reinsurance obligations over the lifetime of those obligations.

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings may apply a matching adjustment to the relevant risk-free interest rate term structure to calculate the best estimate of a portfolio of life insurance or reinsurance obligations, including annuities stemming from non-life insurance or reinsurance contracts subject to prior approval by the supervisory authorities where the following conditions are met:

For each currency the matching adjustment referred to in Article 77b shall be calculated in accordance with the following principles:

For the purposes of paragraph 1(b), the fundamental spread shall be:

EIOPA shall lay down and publish for each relevant currency the following technical information at least on a quarterly basis:

Based on the opinion submitted by EIOPA, referred to in paragraph 2, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 1 January 2021, or, where appropriate, earlier. The report shall focus, in particular, on the effects on:

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 301a laying down the following:

In order to ensure consistent harmonisation in relation to the methods for the calculation of technical provisions, EIOPA shall, subject to Article 301b, develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify:

The Minimum Capital Requirement shall be calculated in accordance with the following principles:

Without prejudice to paragraph 1(d), the Minimum Capital Requirement shall neither fall below 25 % nor exceed 45 % of the undertaking’s Solvency Capital Requirement, calculated in accordance with Chapter VI, Section 4, Subsections 2 or 3, and including any capital add-on imposed in accordance with Article 37.

▼M5

Member States shall allow their supervisory authorities, for a period ending no later than 31 December 2017, to require an insurance or reinsurance undertaking to apply the percentages referred to in the first subparagraph exclusively to the undertaking's Solvency Capital Requirement calculated in accordance with Chapter VI, Section 4, Subsection 2.

▼B

Insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall calculate the Minimum Capital Requirement at least quarterly and report the results of that calculation to supervisory authorities.

▼M5

For the purposes of calculating the limits referred to in paragraph 3, undertakings shall not be required to calculate the Solvency Capital Requirement on a quarterly basis.

▼B

Where either of the limits referred to in paragraph 3 determines an undertaking’s Minimum Capital Requirement, the undertaking shall provide to the supervisory authority information allowing a proper understanding of the reasons therefor.

The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council by 31 December 2020 a report on Member States' rules and supervisory authorities' practices adopted pursuant to paragraphs 1 to 4.

▼B

That report shall address, in particular, the use and level of the cap and the floor set out in paragraph 3 as well as any problems faced by supervisory authorities and by undertakings in the application of this Article.

With respect to the whole portfolio of assets, insurance and reinsurance undertakings shall only invest in assets and instruments whose risks the undertaking concerned can properly identify, measure, monitor, manage, control and report, and appropriately take into account in the assessment of its overall solvency needs in accordance with point (a) of the second subparagraph of Article 45(1).

All assets, in particular those covering the Minimum Capital Requirement and the Solvency Capital Requirement, shall be invested in such a manner as to ensure the security, quality, liquidity and profitability of the portfolio as a whole. In addition the localisation of those assets shall be such as to ensure their availability.

Assets held to cover the technical provisions shall also be invested in a manner appropriate to the nature and duration of the insurance and reinsurance liabilities. Those assets shall be invested in the best interest of all policy holders and beneficiaries taking into account any disclosed policy objective.

In the case of a conflict of interest, insurance undertakings, or the entity which manages their asset portfolio, shall ensure that the investment is made in the best interest of policy holders and beneficiaries.

Without prejudice to paragraph 2, with respect to assets held in respect of life insurance contracts where the investment risk is borne by the policy holders, the second, third and fourth subparagraphs of this paragraph shall apply.

Where the benefits provided by a contract are directly linked to the value of units in an UCITS as defined in Directive 85/611/EEC, or to the value of assets contained in an internal fund held by the insurance undertakings, usually divided into units, the technical provisions in respect of those benefits must be represented as closely as possible by those units or, in the case where units are not established, by those assets.

Where the benefits provided by a contract are directly linked to a share index or some other reference value other than those referred to in the second subparagraph, the technical provisions in respect of those benefits must be represented as closely as possible either by the units deemed to represent the reference value or, in the case where units are not established, by assets of appropriate security and marketability which correspond as closely as possible with those on which the particular reference value is based.

Where the benefits referred to in the second and third subparagraphs include a guarantee of investment performance or some other guaranteed benefit, the assets held to cover the corresponding additional technical provisions shall be subject to paragraph 4.

Without prejudice to paragraph 2, with respect to assets other than those covered by paragraph 3, the second to fifth subparagraphs of this paragraph shall apply.

The use of derivative instruments shall be possible insofar as they contribute to a reduction of risks or facilitate efficient portfolio management.

Investment and assets which are not admitted to trading on a regulated financial market shall be kept to prudent levels.

Assets shall be properly diversified in such a way as to avoid excessive reliance on any particular asset, issuer or group of undertakings, or geographical area and excessive accumulation of risk in the portfolio as a whole.

Investments in assets issued by the same issuer, or by issuers belonging to the same group, shall not expose the insurance undertakings to excessive risk concentration.

With respect to insurance risks situated in the Community, Member States shall not require that the assets held to cover the technical provisions related to those risks are localised within the Community or in any particular Member States.

In addition, with respect to recoverables from reinsurance contracts against undertakings authorised in accordance with this Directive or which have their head office in a third country whose solvency regime is deemed to be equivalent in accordance with Article 172, Member States shall not require the localisation within the Community of the assets representing those recoverables.

The Commission may adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 301a specifying qualitative requirements in the following areas:

Member States shall ensure that an insurance undertaking which proposes to establish a branch within the territory of another Member State notifies the supervisory authorities of its home Member State.

Any permanent presence of an undertaking in the territory of a Member State shall be treated in the same way as a branch, even where that presence does not take the form of a branch, but consists merely of an office managed by the own staff of the undertaking or by a person who is independent but has permanent authority to act for the undertaking as an agency would.

Member States shall require every insurance undertaking that proposes to establish a branch within the territory of another Member State to provide the following information when effecting the notification provided for in paragraph 1:

With regard to Lloyd’s, in the event of any litigation in the host Member State arising out of underwritten commitments, the insured persons shall not be treated less favourably than if the litigation had been brought against businesses of a conventional type.

Unless the supervisory authorities of the home Member State have reason to doubt the adequacy of the system of governance or the financial situation of the insurance undertaking or the fit and proper requirements in accordance with Article 42 of the authorised agent, taking into account the business planned, they shall, within three months of receiving all the information referred to in Article 145(2), communicate that information to the supervisory authorities of the host Member State and shall inform the insurance undertaking concerned thereof.

The supervisory authorities of the home Member State shall also attest that the insurance undertaking covers the Solvency Capital Requirement and the Minimum Capital Requirement calculated in accordance with Articles 100 and 129.

Where the supervisory authorities of the home Member State refuse to communicate the information referred to in Article 145(2) to the supervisory authorities of the host Member State they shall state the reasons for their refusal to the insurance undertaking concerned within three months of receiving all the information in question.

Such a refusal or failure to act shall be subject to a right to apply to the courts in the home Member State.

Before the branch of an insurance undertaking starts business, the supervisory authorities of the host Member State shall, where applicable, within two months of receiving the information referred to in paragraph 1, inform the supervisory authority of the home Member State of the conditions under which, in the interest of the general good, that business must be pursued in the host Member State. The supervisory authority of the home Member State shall communicate this information to the insurance undertaking concerned.

The insurance undertaking may establish the branch and start business as from the date upon which the supervisory authority of the home Member State has received such a communication or, if no communication is received, on expiry of the period provided for in the first subparagraph.

EIOPA may, in the case of justified concerns about negative effects on policy holders, on its own initiative or at the request of one or more of the relevant supervisory authorities, set up and coordinate a collaboration platform to strengthen the exchange of information and to enhance collaboration between the relevant supervisory authorities where an insurance or reinsurance undertaking carries out, or intends to carry out, activities which are based on the freedom to provide services or the freedom of establishment and where:

A Member State may grant an authorisation where the undertaking fulfils at least the following conditions:

The scheme of operations of the branch referred to in Article 162(2)(h) shall set out the following:

In addition to the requirements set out in paragraph 1, the scheme of operations shall include the following, for the first three financial years:

Where under the conditions laid down by national law, a Member State authorises branches set up within its territory and covered by this Chapter to transfer all or part of their portfolios of contracts to a branch covered by this Chapter and set up within the territory of another Member State, it shall ensure that the supervisory authorities of the Member State of the accepting undertaking or, if appropriate, of the Member State referred to in Article 167 certify that:

A transfer authorised in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 5 shall be published as laid down by national law in the Member State in which the risk is situated or the Member State of the commitment.

Such transfers shall automatically be valid against policy holders, insured persons and any other persons having rights or obligations arising out of the contracts transferred.

Each Member State shall require for branches which are set up in its territory an amount of eligible own funds consisting of the items referred to in Article 98(3).

The Solvency Capital Requirement and the Minimum Capital Requirement shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI, Sections 4 and 5.

However, for the purpose of calculating the Solvency Capital Requirement and the Minimum Capital Requirement, both for life and non-life insurance, account shall be taken only of the operations effected by the branch concerned.

The eligible amount of basic own funds shall not be less than half of the absolute floor required under Article 129(1)(d).

The deposit lodged in accordance with Article 162(2)(e) shall be counted towards such eligible basic own funds to cover the Minimum Capital Requirement.

Any undertaking which has requested or obtained authorisation from more than one Member State may apply for the following advantages which may be granted only jointly:

In the cases referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, account shall be taken only of the operations effected by all the branches established within the Community for the purposes of this calculation.

Application to benefit from the advantages provided for in paragraph 1 shall be made to the supervisory authorities of the Member States concerned. The application shall state the authority of the Member State which in future is to supervise the solvency of the entire business of the branches established within the Community. Reasons must be given for the choice of authority made by the undertaking.

The deposit referred to in Article 162(2)(e) shall be lodged with that Member State.

The advantages provided for in paragraph 1 may be granted only where the supervisory authorities of all Member States in which an application has been made agree to them.

Those advantages shall take effect from the time when the selected supervisory authority informs the other supervisory authorities that it will supervise the state of solvency of the entire business of the branches within the Community.

The supervisory authority selected shall obtain from the other Member States the information necessary for the supervision of the overall solvency of the branches established in their territory.

Any Member State which under the second subparagraph of Article 73(5) requires undertakings established in its territory to cease the simultaneous pursuit of the activities in which they were engaged on the relevant date referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 73(5) must also impose this requirement on branches referred to in this Section which are established in its territory and simultaneously pursue both activities there.

Member States may provide that branches referred to in this Section whose head office simultaneously pursues both activities and which on the dates referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 73(5) pursued in the territory of a Member State solely life insurance activity may continue their activity there. Where the undertaking wishes to pursue non-life insurance activity in that territory it may only pursue life insurance activity through a subsidiary.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2, and even if the criteria specified in accordance with paragraph 1 have not been fulfilled, the Commission may, for a limited period, in accordance with Article 301a, and assisted by EIOPA in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010, adopt delegated acts determining that the solvency regime of a third country applied to reinsurance activities of undertakings with the head office in that third country is temporarily equivalent to that laid down in Title I, if that third country has complied with at least the following criteria:

The Commission may submit proposals to the Council for the negotiation of agreements with one or more third countries regarding the means of exercising supervision over the following:

The agreements referred to in paragraph 1 shall in particular seek to ensure, under conditions of equivalence of prudential regulation, effective market access for reinsurance undertakings in the territory of each contracting party and provide for mutual recognition of supervisory rules and practices on reinsurance. They shall also seek to ensure the following:

Each Member State shall communicate to the Commission the risks against which insurance is compulsory under its legislation, stating the following:

A Member State may require that the particulars referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph include a declaration by the insurance undertaking to the effect that the contract complies with the specific provisions relating to that insurance.

The Commission shall publish the particulars referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Member States shall not require the prior approval or systematic notification of general and special policy conditions, scales of premiums, or forms and other printed documents which an insurance undertaking intends to use in its dealings with policy holders.

Member States may require non-systematic notification of those policy conditions and other documents only for the purpose of verifying compliance with national provisions concerning insurance contracts. Those requirements shall not constitute a prior condition for an insurance undertaking to pursue business.

This Section shall apply to Community co-insurance operations which shall be those co-insurance operations which relate to one or more risks classified under classes 3 to 16 of Part A of Annex I and which fulfil the following conditions:

This Section shall apply to legal expenses insurance referred to in class 17 in Part A of Annex I whereby an insurance undertaking promises, against the payment of a premium, to bear the costs of legal proceedings and to provide other services directly linked to insurance cover, in particular with a view to the following:

This Section shall not apply to any of the following:

For the purposes of point (c) of the first subparagraph, the contract shall clearly state that the cover concerned is limited to the circumstances referred to in that point and is ancillary to the assistance.

The home Member State shall ensure that insurance undertakings adopt, in accordance with the option chosen by the Member State, or at their own choice, where the Member State so agrees, at least one of the methods for the management of claims set out in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4.

Whichever solution is adopted, the interest of persons having legal expenses cover shall be regarded as safeguarded in an equivalent manner under this Section.

Insurance undertakings shall ensure that no member of the staff who is concerned with the management of legal expenses claims or with legal advice in respect thereof pursues at the same time a similar activity in another undertaking having financial, commercial or administrative links with the first insurance undertaking and pursuing one or more of the other classes of insurance set out in Annex I.

Composite insurance undertakings shall ensure that no member of the staff who is concerned with the management of legal expenses claims or with legal advice in respect thereof pursues at the same time a similar activity for another class transacted by them.

The insurance undertaking shall entrust the management of claims in respect of legal expenses insurance to an undertaking having separate legal personality. That undertaking shall be mentioned in the separate contract or separate section referred to in Article 199.

Where the undertaking having separate legal personality has links to an insurance undertaking which carries on one or more of the classes of insurance referred to in Part A of Annex I, members of the staff of the undertaking having separate legal personality who are concerned with the management of claims or with legal advice connected with such management shall not pursue the same or a similar activity in the other insurance undertaking at the same time. Member States may impose the same requirements on the members of the administrative, management or supervisory body.

Any contract of legal expenses insurance shall expressly provide that:

Member States may provide for exemption from Article 201(1) for legal expenses insurance if all the following conditions are met:

Member States in which contracts covering the risks under class 2 in Part A of Annex I may serve as a partial or complete alternative to health cover provided by the statutory social security system may require that:

Member States may require that the health insurance system referred to in paragraph 1 be operated on a technical basis similar to that of life insurance where all the following conditions are fulfilled: