Capital, taxation, application timeline, governance and staff requirements for licensing a Cyprus Insurance Company (life or general) with the Cyprus Registrar of Insurers.
Initial capital floor plus additional cover for the risks of your business model.
Initial capital requirement for a Cyprus Insurance Company (life or general), plus capital to cover additional risk exposure per actuary report and business model. In reality the capital required is usually higher.
Corporation tax at 12.5% with industry-specific taxable income calculation.
Taxable income equals all gross premiums, interest, commissions and other income, minus premiums returned to the insured, premiums paid on reinsurance and other expenses including commissions.
Taxable income equals all gross premiums and net investment income, minus reinsurance premiums paid, net claims, surrenders, and expenses including commissions.
Life Insurance shortfall rule: if no tax is due or tax payable is less than 1.5% of gross premiums (excluding contributions to approved pension or provident funds the insurer manages for members), the undertaking pays the shortfall as an income tax prepayment.
Closure: when stock is sold or there is a liquidating distribution to a non Cypriot owner, no Cyprus taxes apply.
Disclaimer: tax is a complex area and some allowances or disallowed expenses, especially in regulated markets, are high level and subject to change.
Two phases from preparation to license approval.
Once we have all the necessary information, our team prepares the full submission package within four weeks.
Around 3 months to approve the shareholder profile and another couple of months to approve the actual application, with information requests in between.
Three areas the Registrar of Insurers weighs most heavily.
Serious, detailed work performed on every section of the submission, leaving no ambiguity for the regulator.
Reputable, established businesses with a credible commercial track record stand the best chance of approval.
Solid financial statements, clear business model and supporting evidence of operational capacity.
A Cyprus insurance company must be fully staffed and produce reporting packages for the regulator and the authorities.
Yes, subject to meeting the relevant Cyprus, EU and target-country requirements.
Not via a branch. Passporting requires setting up a new Cyprus insurer entity.
Provided by email once we have a clear understanding of the work volume and detail required, plus the assistance from the applicant. We have a long-standing relationship with the regulators and will not submit applications we are not confident will be approved.
Contact us for professional licensing services and avoid costly application rejections.