FINMA Specifies the Requirements to the Swiss Market for UK Insurance Companies and Intermediaries

A. Introduction

On 21 December 2023, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK) signed the so-called «Berne Financial Services Agreement», a treaty on mutual recognition in the financial services and insurance sector. The treaty recognises the regulatory and supervisory frameworks of the two jurisdictions as equivalent in certain segments, allowing certain service providers from the investment services and insurance sectors to access each other’s markets more easily. The Berne Financial Services Agreement is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2026.

On 3 November 2025, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA (FINMA) published guidance (the FINMA Guidance) on how interested market participants can benefit from the simplified market access granted under the Berne Financial Services Agreement. Simultaneously with the publication of the FINMA Guidance, the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) jointly issued guidelines to assist UK insurance companies and intermediaries considering providing services in Switzerland under the Berne Financial Services Agreement. UK insurance companies and intermediaries must therefore consider not only the FINMA Guidance, but also the PRA/FCA guidelines.

This bulletin provides an overview of the relevant parts of the FINMA Guidance for UK-domiciled insurance companies and untied insurance intermediaries that intend to supply Swiss clients under the Berne Financial Services Agreement. Although the FINMA Guidance does not refer to Swiss insurance companies, it may also be relevant to them if they cooperate with UK untied insurance intermediaries.

B. Requirements for UK Insurance Companies

The Berne Financial Services Agreement will allow UK-domiciled, -licensed and -supervised insurance companies to provide certain types of insurance to Swiss clients who meet specific criteria, without requiring a local presence or licence in Switzerland. The covered insurance lines and clients are specified in Annex 4 of the Berne Financial Services Agreement. Essentially, the Berne Financial Services Agreement allows UK insurance companies to provide certain non-life insurance policies to large Swiss companies. Not in scope are compulsory or monopoly insurance lines, including motor liability, health and accident insurance policies, as well as insurances provided to retail clients and small and medium-sized enterprises.

Eligible UK insurers wishing to offer insurance services in Switzerland on a cross-border basis are required by the Berne Financial Services Agreement to (i) be registered with FINMA, (ii) provide certain information to their customers, and (iii) submit an annual report to FINMA. The new FINMA Guidance specifies these requirements.

1. Registration with FINMA

According to the FINMA Guidance, the entry of a UK insurance company in FINMA’s register requires a prior notification to the PRA and FCA, which in turn inform FINMA upon receipt of the notification. The notification form will be available on the FCA’s Connect system and will require information, among other things, on the insurance lines that the UK insurer wishes to provide in Switzerland, as well as a declaration confirming that the conditions set out in the Berne Financial Services Agreement are met. In particular, the UK insurer must confirm that it also provides the intended insurance lines outside Switzerland. Without such activity outside Switzerland, supplying the relevant insurance lines in Switzerland would not be permitted under the Berne Financial Services Agreement.

The PRA and FCA will then liaise and confirm to FINMA within 30 days of receiving the notification whether the UK insurance company is eligible. If there are issues with a submitted notification, the PRA will discuss these with the UK insurance company before notifying FINMA.

Within 30 days of receiving positive confirmation, FINMA will add the insurance company to its register of UK insurance companies. At this point, the UK insurance company can begin providing services in Switzerland.

The FINMA register of UK insurance companies will be publicly available and will indicate the insurance classes in which each insurer is authorised to operate.

2. Client Information Obligations

When providing services under the Berne Financial Services Agreement, UK insurance companies will be required to disclose certain information to customers. According to the FINMA Guidance, UK insurance companies must provide the following information to policyholders before entering into an insurance agreement:

• name and address of the UK insurance company;
• confirmation that the insurance company is authorized and supervised under UK law, and that it is not licensed or supervised by FINMA;
• information that the policyholder is personally responsible for paying any mandatory taxes levied on insurance premiums in Switzerland (stamp duties) to the competent tax authority;
• contact details of the UK insurance company for obtaining information on the professional qualifications of distributors and for submitting complaints; and
• information on the governing law of the insurance policy and the competent court for disputes.

The UK insurance companies must provide the above information in text form, either on paper or electronically. These disclosure obligations are in addition to any other disclosure obligations that may apply to UK insurance companies, including those under the Swiss Insurance Contract Act, where applicable.

Furthermore, the policyholder may request a complete copy of all documents prepared by the UK insurance company during the course of the business relationship at any time.

3. Annual Reporting to FINMA

UK insurance companies that rely on the Berne Financial Services Agreement must submit annual reports to FINMA via FINMA’s EHP platform. Copies of these reports are automatically forwarded to the PRA and the FCA.

Yearly reporting must be submitted by 30 April and should cover the previous calendar year. Consequently, if an insurance company registers with FINMA between 1 January and 30 April in any given year, it is not required to report until the subsequent year.

The annual report should include the following information: (i) company name; (ii) the types of covered services, including the classes of insurance supplied to covered clients; and (iii) the total value of gross premiums for activities carried out in the previous 12-month calendar year specified by type of covered services including the classes of insurance where the total value of gross premiums of the insurance company’s activities under the Berne Financial Services Agreement exceeds CHF 5,000,000 in the previous 12-month calendar year.

C. Requirements for UK Untied Insurance Intermediaries

Under the Berne Financial Services Agreement, untied insurance intermediaries domiciled in the UK are exempt from the requirement to have a local presence in Switzerland when providing insurance intermediary services to Swiss clients. However, apart from this exemption, UK-based untied insurance intermediaries are subject to the same rules as Swiss untied insurance intermediaries. In particular, they must register with FINMA (via FINMA’s EHP platform) and are required to submit annual reports to FINMA by 31 May each year.

UK untied insurance intermediaries are also subject to the client disclosure obligations imposed by the Swiss Insurance Supervision Act (including information on training, conflicts of interest and third-party compensation). In addition to these disclosure obligations applicable to all insurance intermediaries, they must specifically inform clients in text form, either on paper or electronically, about the following:

• their responsibility for Swiss stamp duty on insurance premiums; and
• the applicable law and forum for disputes.

Furthermore, policyholders may request a complete copy of all documents prepared by the UK insurance intermediary during the course of the business relationship at any time.

D. Outlook

By issuing the FINMA Guidance, FINMA has specified the requirements that UK insurance companies and untied insurance intermediaries must meet to benefit from the simplified market access granted by the Berne Financial Services Agreement. As UK insurance companies and untied insurance intermediaries must register with FINMA before providing services to customers in Switzerland, interested market participants are recommended to initiate the registration process as soon as possible.