It is not a well-known fact that Liechtenstein is the ideal domicile for:
- Life and P&C insurance companies wishing to do cross-border European as well as International business
- Insurance and Reinsurance captives
- Distributors wishing to launch their own insurance products
The Liechtenstein Financial Center has seen substantial changes over the past few years, and whereas it used to be seen as a tax-haven specializing in money laundering, its insurance laws and anti-money laundering guidelines are now on par with the rest of Europe. It has, however, managed to retain its flexibility allowing entrepreneurial entities and/or persons to pursue innovative new ventures and products.
It is furthermore fair to say that Liechtenstein is probably the best cross-border domicile in Europe. All insurers are active in cross-border business (the local market is simply not big enough for any “local” insurers), which means that it really provides the best platform for an Insurer or Distributor wishing to launch one or more products in a number of different markets, including Switzerland.
In this blog we focus on last point: Distributors wishing to launch their own insurance products. Assithèque has advised a number of companies and persons who wanted to establish a new or acquire an existing insurance company, and similarly helped a number of Distributors to realize their own insurance products.
Many Distributors reach a point where they have a superior knowledge of the market and/or a client base of sufficient size, where they know that if they can create and control their own insurance product, they would be very successful (and working for themselves). Unfortunately, this is easier said than done as there are a number of obstacles to overcome before the dream can become reality:
- Insurers and Distributors do not always “speak the same language”; if the Insurer does not fully understand the concept the answer is usually a No – and as we know, it’s difficult to change a No into a Yes.
- The Distributor does not have access to the right person at the Insurer – which often results in a No (which might have been a Yes if the Distributor had access to the right person in the organisation).
- It’s necessary to speak to the right Insurer (not all Insurers cover all products and all markets).
- But perhaps the most common reason: lack of knowledge and/or experience (in terms of creating your own product and finding the right Insurer to accept it).
Assithèque can assist you to create your own product. This can include any of the following:
- Establishing your own Investment Fund to be included in a unit-linked Life insurance product.
- Designing a Life Savings product (e.g. unit-linked) or Risk product (e.g. Term assurance, Critical Illness, Disability, Mortgage cover, etc.) or even an Annuity product.
- Designing any type of Accident & Health, General Liability , Professional Indemnity and other classes of P&C insurance products.
- Finding an Insurer who will be happy to act as “risk carrier” (i.e. “underwrite” your product).
- Help you to negotiate pricing, fees, commission, etc.
The good news is that to achieve the above does not need to cost a fortune: Depending on the complexity of the product, the level of work to be performed and the expected (realistic) sales volumes, our fee could be structured on a success basis (we share in your upfront and ongoing fees), sometimes a fixed upfront fee is required (e.g. if the product is complex and/or the chances of success uncertain), or a mix of the two bases.
Why don’t you contact us for an initial discussion?
