In April of 2015, the Italian government amended a long standing Black List of countries that imposed restrictions on Italian companies (such as Generali) and limited the territories where they may conduct business.
The territories recently removed from the Italian Black List are: Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Belize, Bermuda, Costa Rica, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montserrat, and Singapore.
These changes are effective January 1st 2015, and reflect Italy’s intentions to boost economic ties with foreign countries. These developments are favorable to captive clients because Generali Employee Benefits (GEB) is now in a position to provide a simplified and more streamlined approach to the administration of many programs that were previously impacted by this regulation.
As you know, prior to these amendments Generali provided an alternative means to serve the needs of impacted Captive clients through its wholly owned subsidiary Generali Rückversicherung AG (Generali Rück), an insurance company based in Austria and subject to Austrian regulations.
The recent amendments to the Italian Black List remove all of the countries that had previously required the use of Generali Rück. As a result, the use of Generali Rück is being discontinued for all clients in favour of direct reinsurance relationships with Assicurazioni Generali, as is the case for all of Generali Employee Benefits’ other clients.
Among the major benefits of these changes, the ability to refocus efforts on opportunities in markets where reinsurance via Generali Rück was restricted, and a common and more systematic approach to GEB’s captive business.
Our Network is convinced that these developments will have a positive impact on the services we can provide to both existing and future captive clients. We are working closely with our local insurers and internal stakeholders to facilitate the necessary changes, all in an effort to make it as simple as is possible for our clients & partners.