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Apply for permission to work as an insurance intermediary

Service Description

You are an insurance intermediary if you work as:

  • insurance agent or
  • insurance broker.

To do this, you need a permit from your local Chamber of Industry and Commerce. In addition to obtaining the permit, you must also register in the insurance intermediary register. Together with the application for permission, you can simultaneously submit an application for entry in the register of intermediaries.

As an insurance agent:

  • If you mediate insurance contracts for one or more insurers on a professional basis and
  • as its property manager, you are on the side of the insurance company on the basis of an agency agreement.

As an insurance broker:

  • you independently broker insurance contracts on behalf of the customer and
  • stand on the side of the customer as his guardian of interests.

Special features for foreign nationals:

If you are a foreign national with a branch office in another member state of the European Union (EU), you must register in that country. You do not need a permit in Germany, nor can you register in the German insurance intermediary register.

For foreign nationals from non-EU countries, the same regulations apply as for German nationals. These also apply to EU nationals who register a corresponding trade exclusively in Germany.

Process flow

You can apply for permission to act as an insurance intermediary in writing:

  • Download the application form from the website of your local Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Fill it out completely.
  • Then send it with the required documents to your local Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
  • As soon as you have provided all the information and the documents are complete, the IHK will decide on your application.
  • After a positive examination, you will receive the permit and, if applicable, will be entered in the insurance intermediary register.
  • The permission granted is valid for an unlimited period. It only ends when you renounce it. Under certain conditions, the IHK can revoke or withdraw the permit and have you deleted from the register of insurance brokers.

Note: As a rule, your local IHK also offers an online procedure.

Who should I contact?

Competent authority

Your locally responsible IHK

Requirements

  • You have the necessary reliability for the business operation. You are not considered reliable if you have been convicted by a final court decision for one of the following offenses in the last 5 years:
    • Felony
    • Theft
    • Embezzlement
    • Extortion
    • Fraud
    • Infidelity
    • Money laundering
    • Forgery of documents
    • Receiving stolen goods
    • Usury
    • Insolvency offenses
  • You live in orderly financial circumstances. You do not meet this requirement if:
    • insolvency proceedings have been opened against your assets or
    • have been dismissed for lack of assets, or
    • you are entered in the debtors' register.
  • You have the required expertise. Proof of the required expertise is possible through:
    • an examination of expertise before the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) or
    • through equivalent training qualifications and possibly corresponding professional experience.
  • You have taken out professional liability insurance. Currently, a minimum cover sum of:
    • EUR 1,276,000 for each insured event and
    • EUR 1,919,000 for all insured events in one year in total.

Which documents are required?

  • Copy of your valid identity card or passport
  • for the proof of the entrepreneurial legal form:
    • if the company is based in Germany:
      • Excerpt from the commercial register or the partnership register, in the case of companies entered in a register, otherwise
      • a copy of the articles of association
    • if the company is domiciled abroad: documents from the country of domicile proving its legal form
  • for proof of personal reliability:
    • if domiciled in Germany:
      • Certificate of good conduct (document type O) and
      • Extract from the Central Trade Register
    • if you are resident abroad: relevant documents from your home country proving your personal reliability
  • for proof of orderly financial circumstances:
    • if you are resident in Germany:
      • Extract from the debtors' register
      • Certificate of the insolvency court
      • Certificate of the tax office in tax matters
    • If you are domiciled abroad: relevant documents from your home country proving that your financial circumstances are in order
  • Proof of expertise from the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) on existing necessary knowledge and legal regulations of the insurance industry
  • Proof from an insurance company of the existence of professional liability insurance for the insurance industry.

In the case of legal entities, you only need to complete the application form for the legal entity itself. You must submit all personal documents for all persons authorized to manage the company. For the legal entity, you also need an extract from the central business register.

Partnerships are not eligible for a permit as such. Therefore, each managing partner requires the permit. For each of these persons, you must submit a completed application form and all personal documents.

Note: Your IHK may request additional documents to verify your personal reliability. Some of the documents submitted may not exceed an expiration date at the time of the decision (not only at the time of submission). Check with your IHK in this regard.

What are the fees?

  • The fees for the licensing procedures for insurance intermediaries and registration in the insurance intermediary register vary depending on the IHK.

Note: Costs may also be incurred when requesting documents that you must submit during the procedure.

What deadlines do I have to pay attention to?

  • Decision on the application: within 3 months

Note: You may not start the activity until the permit has been issued.

Processing duration

Varies depending on the CCI.

Legal basis

Appeal

Forms: can be obtained from your responsible chamber of commerce and industry

Online procedure possible: partly, varies depending on IHK

Written form required: no

Personal appearance required: no

Author

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Technically approved by

Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)

Professionally released on

20.09.2019

Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)

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