New ML/TF risk assessment questionnaire for life insurance intermediaries

On 7 February 2023, the Commissariat aux Assurances (“CAA”) published Circular Letter 23/3 on the harmonised quantitative money laundering and terrorist financing (“ML/TF”) risk exposure assessment questionnaire addressed to relevant insurance intermediaries (“Circular 23/3”).

1. Background

Circular 23/3 aims to extend the quantitative ML/TF risk exposure assessment questionnaire, introduced in 2018 under CAA Circular Letter 18/9 for life insurance companies, to relevant insurance intermediaries, by adapting it to the specificities of insurance intermediation.

Accordingly, relevant intermediaries will now also be required to complete a dedicated questionnaire for the purposes of evaluating their ML/TF risk exposure for certain categories of distributed life insurance policies (“Quantitative Questionnaire”).

2. Scope of application

Circular 23/3 applies to:

• insurance brokers;
  
  
• insurance brokerage companies; and
  
  
• insurance agents and insurance agencies appointed by several life insurance undertakings not belonging to the same group;
  
  

(“Relevant Intermediaries“);

which are distributing or have distributed:

• individual life insurance policies with single premiums enabling savings and investment flexibility, which allow for surrenders and transfers (contrats “Epargne et investissement autres”); and/or
  
  
• bearer life insurance policies, which facilitate anonymity for the policyholders and/or beneficiaries (contrats “au porteur”).

(“Contracts“).

3. Aim

The aims of Circular 23/3 are to:

• introduce the Quantitative Questionnaire for Relevant Intermediaries;
  
  
• explain how Relevant Intermediaries should use the Quantitative Questionnaire; and
  
  
• define the content, format, and timing for collecting the quantitative data referred to in the Quantitative Questionnaire.

4. Key requirements

a. Completion of the Quantitative Questionnaire

The Quantitative Questionnaire must be completed for any:

• • entry into a business relationship that leads to the conclusion of a Contract;
    
    
  • Contract subject to a material movement or modification;
    
    
  • Contract not subject to a material movement or modification, whose ML/TF risk is to be re-evaluated according to applicable internal due diligence procedures.

The risk scores for each Contract must be archived electronically and be accessible, to ensure a reliable audit trail.

b. Data collection

Relevant Intermediaries must additionally provide the CAA with data on the following on an annual basis:

• • entries into business relationships that have led to the conclusion of Contracts; and
    
    
  • the stock of Contracts that have been subject to at least one assessment based on the Quantitative Questionnaire.

 

c. Impact on internal procedures

Relevant Intermediaries are invited to document the operational arrangements associated with the implementation of Circular 23/3 in their internal procedures, including:

 

• • practical guidance for completing the Quantitative Questionnaire;

 

• • the level of ML/TF risk and the criteria that trigger a new assessment using the Quantitative Questionnaire; and

 

• • the processes for establishing the annual collection of the data referred to in the Quantitative

 

5. Timeline

The Quantitative Questionnaire must be used as of 1 July 2023.

Relevant Intermediaries must submit the data collected to the CAA by 31 January each year.

 

Our experts Pierre-Michaël de Waersegger, Samantha Marx, Emmanuelle Mousel and Sandrine Périot are at your disposal should you have any questions.

If you require any assistance or advice regarding the rules and requirements governing ML/TF exposure for insurance companies and/or intermediaries, please contact our insurance experts.

Our dedicated Financial crime – AML/CFT team has also developed a dedicated service offering for providing comprehensive legal and operational assistance with the ever-growing AML/CTF compliance challenges.

 

Read Circular 23/3 (French only) here_