General communication

Companies should send applications, documents to be submitted and other correspondence to BaFin’s Insurance Supervision Sector by electronic means only. For cases where the law requires the written form, BaFin provides means for transmitting electronic documents in a legally valid manner.

Please address your electronic correspondence to the competent division as follows: VAxy@bafin.de (“xy” being a placeholder for the division number) (examples: VA51@bafin.de; VA21@bafin.de, etc.). Companies should address any questions they have about electronic correspondence regarding complaints to their point of contact at BaFin in division VBS 14

Confidential information must be sent by encrypted e-mail. This applies in particular to consumer complaints, petitions and enquiries regarding insurers and insurance matters, which are handled centrally by division VBS 14. For information about secure e-mail communication, which many companies already use on a regular basis to communicate with BaFin, please refer to the BaFin website.

Information on the electronic submission of the following documents is provided below:

• annual financial statements/annual reports
• audit reports
• registers of guarantee assets
• other documents

Electronic submission of annual financial statements and annual reports

Once prepared, annual financial statements and management reports are to be submitted electronically via the reporting and publishing platform (MVP). The same applies to approved annual reports and final annual reports.

This is the mode of submission that BaFin recommends. These documents are to be submitted using the MVP specialised procedure, “insurance supervision”, submission “Geschäftsberichte (prefix GB)”. For advice regarding file naming conventions, please refer to the Information sheet on the specialised procedure Insurance Supervision on the MVP Portal. Please also use the free text part of the file name to make it clear whether the file contains the prepared annual financial statements and management report or the approved or final annual report. Examples of valid file names (for the fictitious registration number 1234) would therefore be: GB_1234_Aufgestellter_JA_und_Lagebericht_2021.pdf (prepared annual financial statements and management report), GB_1234_Festgestellter_Geschaeftsbericht_2021.pdf (approved annual report) or GB_1234_Endgueltiger_Geschaeftsbericht_2021.pdf (final annual report).

These documents, which should be submitted with a simple signature (=full name in text form), are to be accompanied by a letter stating that the report has been approved by resolution of those authorised to approve it (and, if applicable, whether this was resolution by circulation, in a video conference or similar) and, where appropriate, that it has been signed by the necessary individuals (section 16 (2) of the Insurance Reporting Regulation (Versicherungsberichterstattungs-Verordnung – BerVersV)). The letter must be signed by the chairperson or their deputy using a simple signature (=full name in text form). If the accompanying letter is transmitted in a separate file, this file is required to follow the same file naming conventions as the documents to be submitted.

Electronic submission of audit reports

Audit reports from auditors now only need to be uploaded electronically via the MVP with a qualified electronic signature (QES); it is no longer necessary to submit a hard copy in these cases.

The following established modes of submission are to be used for such files:

“WP-Bericht Jahresabschluss (prefix WP-JA)” submission in the MVP specialised procedure “Insurance Supervision”

• Upload file types: pdf
• Upload file name: WP-JA_<4-digit registration number>_<free text: 1 to 85 permitted characters (no umlauts, spaces or special characters)>.pdf

“WP-Bericht Solvabilitätsübersicht (PDF)” submission in the MVP specialised procedure “Insurance Supervision – Solvency II”

• Upload file types: pdf
• Upload file name: WP-SII_<4-digit registration number>_<free text: 1 to 85 permitted characters (no umlauts, spaces or special characters)>.pdf
  For files containing a qualified electronic signature, the free text part of the file name is to include, “qeS” (e.g. WP-SII_1234_Solvabilitaetsuebersicht_2021_qeS.pdf).

Notes and remarks from the management board and the supervisory board regarding the audit report (section 37 (5) of the Insurance Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz – VAG)) can also be uploaded via the MVP with a simple signature (=full name in text form), observing the above file naming conventions, and do not need a QES.

Electronic submission of a register of guarantee assets (Sicherungsvermögensverzeichnis)

For the financial year 2022 onwards, companies may submit registers of guarantee assets to the relevant insurance supervision divisions electronically with a qualified electronic signature (QES) in PDF/A format via the MVP platform. However, electronic submission is not compulsory; it is still possible to submit registers of guarantee assets in paper form. BaFin welcomes submissions of registers of guarantee assets in electronic form. Hybrid submission of registers of guarantee assets (where some documents are submitted by post with original signatures and others are submitted via the MVP platform with a QES) is not possible at present.

Format and scope of submission:

The register of guarantee assets file (SVV file) is to be uploaded in PDF/A format on the MVP platform and must include the following components:

• the additions to and withdrawals from the guarantee assets that have occurred during the year
  
• every five years, an inventory of all guarantee assets (separate SVV file, see naming convention below)
• the electronically produced confirmation from the management board/authorised agent, as set out in section 126 (2) sentence 1 of the VAG, that the submitted entries in the register of assets are accurate (including with regard to points 2.2 to 2.6/2.5 of Annex 15 (Form VV-Z) of Circular 7/2016 (VA) and/or Circular 6/2017 (VA))
• the electronically produced confirmation from the guarantee assets trustee in line with point 3 of Annex 15 (Form VV-Z) of Circular 7/2016 (VA) and/or Circular 6/2017 (VA)
• Annex 15 (Form VV-Z) of Circular 7/2016 (VA) and/or Circular 6/2017 (VA), filled in (the signatures of the management board or authorised agent and the guarantee assets trustee are not required)
• for companies that (for some of their portfolio) are required to appoint a responsible actuary, an electronically produced confirmation from this actuary regarding the accuracy of the calculation of the target volume of guarantee assets, separately for each basket of guarantee assets and each separate account within the guarantee assets as well as broken down into the different parts of the target volume of guarantee assets
• for companies that are not required to appoint a responsible actuary, a calculation of the target volume of guarantee assets, electronically produced by the company and itemised as specified above

The entire SVV file is to be signed electronically by QES by two authorised representatives of the company. In this context, the company can include a letter from the two authorised representatives at the start of the SVV file informing BaFin that they have digitally signed the entire SVV file by QES for submission to BaFin. It is not sufficient for this letter to be signed by QES as a separate PDF/A file and then added on to the beginning of a register or inventory of guarantee assets that is not signed by QES in a combined PDF/A file. The QES must relate to the entire SVV file.
A confirmation is “electronically produced” if the person making the declaration produced the confirmation using an electronic system. Please note that a document signed on paper and then scanned or otherwise processed electronically is categorised as a paper document and therefore does not fulfil the requirement of an “electronically produced confirmation”. The issuer, the date and the content of the declaration must be clear from the confirmation; it is not necessary for a scanned signature to be inserted. With regard to the above-mentioned confirmation from the management board/authorised agent/guarantee assets trustee, the person making the declaration may manually formulate the confirmation in a word processing program, save this file and then incorporate the file into the SVV file mentioned above in order to satisfy the requirements.

Formulation for an electronically produced confirmation from the management board/authorised agent:
“In accordance with section 126 (2) sentence 1 of the VAG, I hereby certify that the entries in the register of assets as submitted to BaFin for the [insert financial year] financial year are accurate and complete, and that the entries under points 2.2 to [2.6 for Circular 7/2016 (VA) or 2.5. for Circular 6/2017 (VA)] of Annex 15 (Form VV-Z) of Circular [7/2016 (VA) or 6/2017 (VA)] are accurate. [Date, first and last name, management board/authorised agent]"

Please note: A reference to point 2.1 of Annex 15 (Form VV-Z) of the above circulars is not necessary, as this relates to submission in paper form.

Formulation for an electronically produced confirmation from the guarantee assets trustee:
"In accordance with section 128 (5) of the VAG, I hereby certify that the assets listed in the register of assets for the [insert financial year] financial year are invested in compliance with legal and supervisory requirements and safeguarded in accordance with the applicable rules. [Date, first and last name, guarantee assets trustee]"

• Further information about the submission of SVV files via the MVP platform:
  The specialised procedure to be used is called “Insurance Supervision”.
  Please remember to apply for personalised access to the specialised procedure in good time (at least 1 week before the planned notification).
• The name of the submission is “Register of Assets (Prefix SVV)”

Files uploaded must be in PDF/A format.
The maximum file size for submissions on the MVP platform is 250 MB.

Naming convention for uploaded files:
SVV_<4-digit registration number>_<BV or VV>_<financial year as 4-digit number>.pdf
BV = inventory of guarantee assets and VV = register of assets
Examples: SVV_4711_VV_2022.pdf or SVV_4711_BV_2022.pdf

Electronic submission of other documents via the MVP reporting platform

All other submission procedures set up on the MVP Portal remain unchanged. This includes the following in particular:

• tariff notifications for life insurers and insurers offering accident insurance with premium refunds,
• technical business plans (technische Geschäftspläne) for life insurers, funeral expenses funds (Sterbekassen) and insurers offering accident insurance with premium refunds and

• explanatory reports, suitability reports and surplus declarations for life insurers and insurers providing accident insurance with premium refunds and/or annuities in connection with liability/accident/motor vehicle insurance.

Information on how to submit applications or other enquiries to BaFin’s Insurance Supervision

1. General points

With the introduction of Solvency II in 2016 and IORP II in 2019, the transitioning from a rules-based to a principles-based regulation framework has increased the level of differentiation in the regulation of insurance undertakings. The subsequent increase in complexity and scale of individual applications and enquiries received from the undertakings make it necessary for BaFin to carry out an undertaking-specific assessment that is also based on proportionality considerations. Therefore, the documents to be submitted must be set out in such a way that it is possible for BaFin recognise the relevant points for making a decision. BaFin must be in a position to readily understand the undertaking’s reasons for submitting the application or report and the key aspects relating to them. BaFin seeks to make these processes generally more efficient – particularly by ensuring the inclusion of existing compliance functions. Of special importance in this context is the undertaking-specific information that is prepared by the compliance function in fulfilment its obligation of advising the board of management under section 29 (2) of the German Insurance Supervision Act (Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz – VAG) prior to the submission of applications and enquiries. BaFin therefore expects undertakings in future to familiarise themselves with the legal and, in particular, supervisory questions underlying the issues before contacting BaFin and communicate them to BaFin as part of the process. Account must be taken of the following:

2. Applications and other enquiries

For applications and other enquiries or communication submitted in expectation of a response from BaFin, the following points must be noted:

a. Preparatory contact with BaFin

Particularly for processes that are extensive and likely to be complex, BaFin expects the undertakings to provide information on their proposed measures in good time along with a timetable. Based on previous supervisory practice, undertakings that contact BaFin at an early stage and offer a transparent planning process are in a far more advantageous position when it comes to BaFin’s handling of their application process. This is the case in areas such as approvals, extensions or changes to internal models, undertaking-specific parameters, the granting of authorisations and in the case of qualifying holding procedures or procedures for approving ancillary own funds.

Applications should be made as early as possible, particularly if the processing period is not subjected to a time restriction.
Undertakings should ensure that they are well prepared when making first contact by providing details on their decision for the planned measure alongside the economic reasoning on which the decision is based.
Moreover, during this phase it is important that undertakings familiarise themselves with the relevant supervisory regulations and carry out appropriate preliminary examinations.

If several undertakings of an insurance group intend to submit the same applications and enquiries, they should seek to make a joint submission.

b. Time of submission
Applications and submissions should be made as early as possible in order to ensure, depending on the complexity of the process and the scale of the documents to be submitted, that sufficient time is allowed for the examination before the actual implementation of the proposed measure takes place. The length of the examination period depends largely on the quality of the submitted documents. BaFin expects the undertakings to act with utmost diligence and, depending on the scale of the documentation, ensure that it is well structured so that it can be readily understood by third parties.

c. Statements and appraisals by the undertakings

Besides the documents to be submitted for the process in question, BaFin expects the undertakings to carry out in advance a legal appraisal of their issue of concern, which covers all the relevant legal aspects and to which the documents relating to the appraisal are attached. In particular, undertakings should discuss compliance with supervisory requirements and explain and highlight questions arising from the interpretation of legal regulations or circulars, guidance notices or other publications by BaFin. If, in the opinion of the undertakings, the issue of concern necessitates a deviation from published sample texts, guidance notices or minimum requirements etc., the reasons for the deviations must be explained in detail and the deviations highlighted.

For straightforward cases, the undertakings should use the sample form attached below, fill out the relevant information and attach this to the documents for submission. If the issue of concern relates to amendments to general insurance policy conditions (Allgemeine Versicherungsbedingungen – AVB), articles of association etc., the fields “current version” containing the present version of the text and “new version” containing the proposed changes (highlighted in coloured print, for example) must be used. Other specific submission formats provided for in notes or guidance notices remain unaffected by this clause.

In particular, in the case of complex and extensive processes, the undertakings might need to discuss their issue of concern with BaFin and provide additional detailed explanations together with the supervisory law considerations.

As part of a risk-based assessment, it might also be necessary for the undertakings to have their own legal appraisals of complex questions and matters verified by legal opinions from external parties.

d. Language for the submissions

Applications may be made in whole or in part in English, with BaFin entitled to demand a translation if required (see section 4j of the Act Establishing the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanzdienstleistungsaufsichtsgesetz – FinDAG).

3. Proportionality considerations

BaFin can only take limited account of staffing levels when undertakings make their internal preparations for processing their issue of concern and compiling the information to be submitted to BaFin. As a rule, the scale and complexity of processes depend also on the scale and complexity of the risks associated with the activity of the particular insurance undertaking. As a rule, size and complexity of an insurance group, an insurance undertaking and the insurance business being conducted are also decisive factors with regard to the individual risk profile. Therefore, the general expectations of BaFin expressed here relate to all undertakings and groups, regardless of their size.