General Good Requirements in Germany

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In accordance with Section 61 (5) sentence 1
VAG
,
BaFin continuously informs the supervisory authorities of the other EU/EEA member states of such legal provisions that insurance companies domiciled in these states have to follow if carrying out business activities through a branch or by the provision of services (business activity pursuant to Section 61 (1) VAG ) and the compliance with which is monitored by BaFin in the exercise of supervision, with the exception of financial supervision.

All mentioned laws and regulations must be observed in the current version including subsequent amendments. A current version of the respective law can be found under "www.gesetze-im-internet.de" or you can follow the direct link to each law in the German version of this guidance note. Some law texts are also available in English. Please note that the English translation may not be current. In any case, the German version is binding.

23.08.2019

The following public law legislation primarily applies:

the Insurance Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz – VAG ) of 1 April 2015 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 434), pursuant to section 61 et seq. of the VAG ; the Act Establishing the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgesetz – FinDAG ) of 22 April 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1310); and the Regulation on Insurance Mediation (Versicherungsvermittlungsverordnung – VersVermV ) of 17 December 2018 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2483; 2019 I p. 411).

Life insurance contracts are furthermore subject to the provisions set forth in:

the Occupational Pensions Act (Betriebsrentengesetz – BetrAVG ) of 19 December 1974 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3610); sections 202 and 229 of the German Social Security Code (Sozialgesetzbuch – SGB ), Book V – statutory health insurance – (Article 1 of the Act of 20 December 1988, Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2477); sections 9 and 1 of the 5th German Capital Accumulation Act (Fünftes Vermögensbildungsgesetz – 5. VermBG) as published in the announcement of 4 March 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 406); the Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz – GwG ) of 23 June 2017 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1822); the Pension Contracts Certification Act (Altersvorsorgeverträge-Zertifizierungsgesetz – AltZertG ) of 26 June 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1310 and 1322).

Unit-linked life insurance contracts that include the acquisition of shares are additionally subject to the provisions of

the Investment Code (Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch – KAGB ) of 4 July 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1981).

The following Acts and Regulations additionally apply to substitutive health insurance operated in accordance with the technical principles of life insurance :

section 257 of the German Social Security Code (Sozialgesetzbuch –
SGB
), Book V – statutory health insurance – (Article 1 of the Act of 20 December 1988, Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2477); sections 61, 110 and 111 of the German Social Security Code (Sozialgesetzbuch – SGB ), Book XI – social long-term care insurance – (Article 1 of the Act of 26 May 1994, Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1014); the Health Insurance Supervision Regulation (Krankenversicherungsaufsichtsverordnung – KVAV) of 18 April 2016 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 780).

In motor liability insurance the following Acts and Regulations must be additionally observed:

the Compulsory Insurance Act (Pflichtversicherungsgesetz – PflVG ) of 5 April 1965 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 213); the Regulation on Compulsory Motor Vehicle Insurance (Kraftfahrzeug-Pflichtversicherungsverordnung – KfzPflVV ) of 29 July 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1837); and the Act on Third Party Liability Insurance for Motor Vehicles and Trailers Based Abroad (Auslandskraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherungsgesetz – AuslPflVG) in the amended version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, classification no. 952-2.

The same applies to statutory provisions which stipulate compulsory insurance , for instance

section 54 of the Law Regulating the Profession of Wirtschaftsprüfer (Wirtschaftsprüferordnung – WPO) as published in the announcement of 5 November 1975 (Federal Law Gazette I,
p.
2803);
section 19a of the Federal Code on Notaries (Bundesnotarordnung –
BNotO
) in the amended version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, classification no. 303-1; and
section 20 of the Medical Devices Act (Medizinproduktegesetz –
MPG
) as published in the announcement of 7 August 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3146).

An overview of compulsory liability insurance in Germany can be found here .

Under German civil law the following Acts and Regulations must in particular be observed:

the Insurance Contract Act (Versicherungsvertragsgesetz – VVG ) of 23 November 2007 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2631); the Introductory Law to the Insurance Contract Act (Einführungsgesetz zum Versicherungsvertragsgesetz – EGVVG) in the amended version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, classification no. 7632-2; the Regulation on Information Obligations for Insurance Contracts ( VVG -Informationspflichtenverordnung – VVG-InfoV ) of 18 December 2007 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3004); the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB ) as published in the announcement of 2 January 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 42, 2909; 2003 I p. 738); the Introductory Law to the Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch – BGBEG) as published in the announcement of 21 September 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2494; 1997 I p. 1061); the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz – AGG ) of 14 August 2006 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1897); the Unfair Competition Act (Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb – UWG ) as published in the announcement of 3 March 2010 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 254); the Regulation on Price Indications (Preisangabenverordnung – PAngV ) as published in the announcement of 18 October 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 4197); the Telemedia Act (Telemediengesetz – TMG) of 26 February 2007 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 179); and the Trust Services Act (Vertrauensdienstegesetz – VDG) of 18 July 2017 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 2745).

If application of the German contract law is not mandatory or has not been agreed upon, only those of the aforementioned laws and acts apply that are internationally mandatory or related to public order. This is particularly the case where large exposures are concerned. In all other respects, i.e. mainly with regard to the insurance of mass risks, any mandatory (and semi-mandatory) provisions apply, i.e. provisions that cannot (or at least not to the detriment of the policyholder) be contractually excluded.

In addition to these laws and acts, which are relevant to the business operations of insurance undertakings, other statutory provisions that do not explicitly refer to insurance operations, must also be complied with. These include, along with, e.g. , provisions of (insurance) tax law or industrial safety regulations, particularly the following:

the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch – HGB ) in the amended version published in the Federal Law Gazette Part III, classification no. 4100-1; the Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen – GWB ) as published in the announcement of 26 June 2013 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 3245); and the Federal Data Protection Act (Bundesdatenschutzgesetz – BDSG ) as published in the announcement of 14 January 2003 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 66).

Additional information
:

The general good requirements for distribution-related activities of insurance undertakings to be published in accordance with Article 11 (1) of Directive ( EU ) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 on insurance distribution (" IDD ") can be found in the guidance notice " The 'general good' rules applicable to insurance distribution by insurance undertakings in Germany ('General good' rules - Art. 11 IDD ) ".

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