In Portugal, the entity that supervises insurance and reinsurance activity is the ASF – Autoridade de Supervisão de Seguros e Fundos de Pensões. ASF is the portuguese equivalent of FCA – Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.
ASF is subject to the authority of the Ministry of Finance, has existed for more than 40 years and is based in Lisbon. The supervisory and oversight activity is extensive to all organisations, insurers, insurance products, pension funds and mediation activity.
In each European country there is an entity that assumes these functions. For instance, in Spain, ASF’s equivalent would be the DGSFP, in Germany, BaFin and in the UK, FCA – Financial Conduct Authority. All the europeans entities are dependents of the economy ministries are in turn supervised by a European organization, the EIOPA – European Insurance and Pension Authority, based in Frankfurt, Germany.
The ASF supervises Portuguese insurers and reinsurers (or rather those based in Portugal) and also the activity they carry out in other countries of the European Union, through their branches or under the freedom to provide services. The ASF is also responsible for supervising foreign insurers operating in Portugal but headquartered in countries outside Europe.
ASF’s activity of supervising and overseeing insurance activity in Portugal is felt in various ways. For example, they conduct annual audits and inspections of insurers to control that they are following legislation in the area and following correct management policies that promote good operation, solvency
and the fulfilment of responsibilities towards policyholders, i.e. honouring commitments to customers and contractual promises. In relation to its normative function, ASF is the entity that in Portugal carries out the preparation of technical standards and other legal diplomas.
Useful links:
ASF – Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority : https://www.asf.com.pt/
EIOPA – European Insurance and Pension Authority https://www.eiopa.europa.eu/
FCA – Financial Conduct Authority: https://www.fca.org.uk/
One of the missions of C1 BROKER, insurance broker, is to make insurance activity more transparent and accessible to all. In this blog, we will present posts in simple language (we try to avoid specific terminology, the so-called “insurancesese”) without losing the quality of the content. Any questions or comments are always welcome.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date with the latest news.
And while you’re at it, don’t forget to ask us for a quote for all your insurances! For instance: Health Insurance – House insurance – Car Insurance – Pet Insurance – Boat Insurance – Life Insurance – and much more…
