Since our establishment in 1969, we have acted as attorneys of insurance and reinsurance companies in Panama, obtaining a well-known local and international reputation.

During our first years we represented local insurance companies, that shortly after were followed by international insurers and reinsurers. Today, a great number of insurance and reinsurance companies in the life, health, general and surety branches, among others, are part of our clientele.

Services we offer in this area

Obtaining of licenses that allow legal operation in our country, review and drafting of insurance policies and coverage notes, attention of all kinds of legal consultation regarding the course of business of our clients and legal representation in lawsuits that occasionally arise as a consequence of the insurance business.

After the enactment of the current Insurance Law that requires foreign reinsurers and reinsurer brokers and those who do not have a physical presence in our country to register before the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama, in SUCRE | ARIAS | REYES we represent the interests of many of these companies.

We have a great team of lawyers with extensive experience who are always updated on matters related to the insurance and reinsurance industry to guarantee the best advice to our clients.

Currently our firm is recognized in the A.M. Best’s directory as “Best’s Recommended Insurance Attorneys, General Defense” in Panama. We are also part of Insuralex, an international organization of attorneys specialized in insurance law.

Foreign Reinsurer and Insurance Broker Registry

Law 63 of 1996 (the “Reinsurance Law”) governs the reinsurance companies and reinsurance brokerage in Panama.

The Reinsurance Law sets forth that those reinsurers that wish to operate from an office established in Panama, may opt for a general reinsurance license that allows them to reinsure local or foreign risks, or an international reinsurance license that allows it to exclusively acquire foreign risks reinsurance, or, a reinsurance manager license, granted to t hose legal entities that from an office located in the Republic of Panama, represent third party reinsurers and on their behalf, obtain local and foreign risks reinsurance.

Likewise, and on the other hand, the aforementioned law also sets forth the requirements for obtaining a license that allows a reinsurance broker to mediate between reinsurance companies and their reinsured from an office established in Panama.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in Panama there is also another form of participation in the local market for foreign reinsurance companies and reinsurance brokers that – not wanting to operate from Panama – wish to have participation in the reinsurance and placement of risks in the local market, which implies their registration as foreign reinsurers or reinsurance brokers (as applicable) before the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (“SSRP”, for its acronym in Spanish), as provided in Law 12 of 2012 (the “Insurance Law”) and regulated by Agreement 4 of 2012 issued by the SSRP.

The requirements for the registration of foreign reinsurers before the SSRP are the following:

• Application for registration listing: name of the foreign reinsurer, country of domicile, address, names of the legal representative and general manager and copy of their identification documents, designation of resident representative domiciled in Panama (service that our firm offers), place to receive notifications, petition, details of the applicant and signature
• Certificate of incumbency (incumbency certificate) or corporate resolution indicating the name of the legal representative and the general manager of the reinsurer
• Legal document or certificate that certifies the existence and legal representation of the company
• Certificate from the regulator indicating that the reinsurer has the legal capacity to act as a reinsurer in the lines in which it operates abroad
• Document issued by a risk rating agency in the last 24 months certifying a rating equal to or greater than the following:

• Audited financial statements for the last 3 financial years, the last being no more than 18 months from its annual closing date
• Annual report of the last management
• Certified check to the SSRP for the amount of registration fees

The requirements for the registration of foreign reinsurers before the SSRP are the following:

• Application for registration listing: name of reinsurance brokerage company, country of domicile, address, names of the legal representative and general manager and copy of their identification documents, designation of resident representative domiciled in Panama (service that our firm offers), place to receive notifications, petition, details of the applicant and signature
• Certificate of incumbency (incumbency certificate) or corporate resolution indicating the name of the legal representative and the general manager of the reinsurance brokerage company
• Legal document or certificate that certifies the existence and legal representation of the company
• Certificate from the regulator indicating that the reinsurance brokerage company has the legal capacity to act as such in the branches in which it operates abroad
• Errors and omissions policy of up to One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars (US$150,000.00) contracted with an insurance company authorized to operate in Panama
• Certified check to the SSRP for the amount of registration fees

In any case, all documentation coming from abroad, with some exceptions, must be translated into Spanish by a public translator authorized in Panama and apostilled.

Once the SSRP grants registration, it is valid for one year, renewable annually for the same period.

It is important to indicate that, with some exceptions, foreign reinsurers must be registered before accepting reinsurance risks from insurers operating in Panama.

In Sucre | Arias | Reyes we have obtained the registrations and are the resident representatives of a significant volume of the reinsurers and reinsurance brokers currently registered with the SSRP. If you require guidance and support in your registration process with the SSRP, do not hesitate to contact us at sucre@sucre.net

Our insurance and reinsurance lawyers in Panama carefully evaluate your insurance policy to guarantee you the best coverage.