This country-specific Q&A gives a pragmatic overview of the
law and practice of insurance & reinsurance law in the Germany.
It addresses topics such as contract regulation,
licensing, penalties, policyholder protection, alternative dispute
resolution as well as personal insight and opinion as to
the future of the insurance market over the next five years.
1. How is the writing of insurance contracts regulated in the
jurisdiction?
Insurance supervision in Germany is mainly regulated by the
Insurance Supervisory Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz, VAG). The
VAG contains provisions on, inter alia, authorisation, fund
requirements and governance for insurance and reinsurance
undertakings. The VAG was reformed in order to transpose the
Directive 2009/138/EC ("Solvency II Directive") into
domestic law as of 1 January 2016. The Solvency II Directive is
supplemented by the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 of
10 October 2014 which is directly applicable in
