Simplification of Сurrency Regulation of Transactions under Insurance and Reinsurance Contracts

As of February 20, 2023

On February 14, 2023, Resolution No. 7 of the NBU with amendments to Resolution No. 18 "On the operation of the banking system during the period of martial law" entered into force. The NBU has allowed Ukrainian insurers to carry out payment of insurance payments under most reinsurance contracts concluded with non-resident reinsurers without restrictions to the date of conclusion of such contracts.

To make payments under a reinsurance contract a non-resident reinsurer must hold one of the following financial reliability ratings:

A3 Moody's Investors Service (USA) A- Standard & Poor's (USA) A- Fitch Ratings (UK) A- A.M. Best (USA)

Also, the insurer must be included in the list of insurers that have the right to carry out reinsurance operations with non-resident reinsurers (hereinafter - List of insurers), and shall meet the following requirements, both as at the date of application for inclusion in the List of insurers and during the period of being listed:

• its ownership structure must be transparent and meet other requirements specified in the Regulation on requirements for the ownership structure of financial service providers, approved by the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine No. 30 dated April 14, 2021
• the insurer must comply with the criteria of solvency and capital adequacy and the requirements for the riskiness of operations as of the last calendar day of the month preceding the date of submission of the application for inclusion in the List of Insurers, as well as the last calendar day of each month during the period of being listed
• the business reputation of the insurer, its owners of significant participation as well as managers, the chief accountant, and key persons must be impeccable in accordance with NBU Resolution No. 153
• within one year prior to the date of submission of the application and during the period of being listed, no measures of influence were applied to the insurer, except for a written warning, for violating the requirements of the anti-money laundering legislation sanctions

The insurer must periodically confirm the specified information to the National Bank. In case of non-compliance with this obligation, the NBU may exclude such an insurer from the list.

We would also like to add that certain exceptions remain valid when payments to non-resident reinsurers are prohibited, namely under the following contracts:

• voluntary credit insurance (including the borrower's liability for loan default)
• voluntary insurance of court costs
• mandatory personal insurance for employees of the departmental (except those who work in institutions and organizations financed by the State Budget of Ukraine) and rural fire brigades and members of voluntary fire brigades (teams)
• mandatory liability insurance of the subjects of tourist activity for damage caused to the life or health of a tourist or his property
• mandatory civil liability insurance of a private notary
• mandatory civil liability insurance for owners of land vehicles (with the exception of international "Green Card" insurance)

Despite the prohibitions, local insurers are expressly allowed to carry out the following operations under reinsurance contracts, without restrictions as to the amounts or terms:

1. Insurance of telecommunications It is allowed to pay insurance payments in favour of non-resident reinsurers according to the relevant contracts providing compensation for damages related to the operation, restoration, damage, destruction and/or loss of property of telecommunication networks and telecommunication infrastructure on the territory of Ukraine, including those caused as a result of war 2. "Green card" It is allowed to pay insurance payments in favour of reinsurers and pay insurance indemnifications according to the relevant international insurance contracts 3. Aviation risks It is allowed to pay insurance payments in favour of non-resident reinsurers according to the relevant contracts 4. Nuclear risks The authorized insurer of the Nuclear Insurance Pool is permitted to pay insurance payments and insurance indemnifications under reinsurance contracts to foreign nuclear pools

It is important to reiterate that insurance services are generally subject to settlement deadlines for export and import operations (currently 180 days). However, since recently the servicing banks have a right to complete the foreign exchange supervision of reinsurance operations listed herein above based on the documents on termination of obligations by way of set-off of mutual claims.