“Note: this is just a translation of a news article appearing in La Prensa newspaper in Panama on 18 January 2018. The article is authored by Roberto Gonzalez Jimenez, and is property of Grupo Corprensa. The British Chamber of Commerce in Panama does not claim ownership of the contents of the article, only the translation presented below.
The Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance in Panama is promoting new regulations for the registration of foreign reinsurers and reinsurance brokers that are not established in Panama, but do business with companies in the country.
In Panama, there are around eighty foreign businesses that offer reinsurance and support reinsurers, but are not supervised by the Panamanian regulatory body, nor do they have an operating license in Panama.
The Superintendent of Insurance and Reinsurance, José Joaquín Riesen, explained that it will be asked of foreign reinsurers that are used by Panamanian ones, to have at least a dual risk rating equal or above BBB+, and that their note is a step above their degree of investment.
Eighty percent of the insured risk lies with reinsurers. “The billions that are insured are backed up from abroad. We make many regulations with reinsurers locally, but not where the greatest risk lies. What we are looking for is to improve the quality of insurance that is provided in Panama”, he expressed.
Furthermore, the registration requirements will be made more flexible in order to promote the arrival of more companies in this industry to the country.
For example, the regulatory body will accept that financial statements are presented in commonly used currencies other than the US Dollar, such as the Yen, the Euro or Sterling.
The regulation, which can be downloaded on the regulatory body’s website, is in the phase of public consultation.
