Chile unveils self-assessment rules for insurers

Chilean insurance companies and brokers will have to produce market conduct self-assessment reports from 2018.

Securities and insurance watchdog SVS has published associated regulations which state that insurers must do it every two years.

Companies will be required to evaluate how they perform in the areas of fair treatment of clients, management of conflicts of interest, protection of client information, and promotion of the market through transparency.

"The rules require insurance companies and brokers to carry out, every two years, a self-assessment to determine compliance with the principals established in the regulations, and provide the SVS with the results and a plan of action they have drawn up to address any shortcomings," SVS said in a statement.

Insurers and brokers will have to submit their first reports by the end of March 2018. These will be a snapshot of compliance as of end-December 2017.

By carrying out the self-assessments and making any requisite changes, insurers and brokers will be helping to strengthen the local industry as well as increase customer confidence and satisfaction, SVS said.

In July, a bill that establishes a Solvency II-based supervision model for insurers was submitted to congress. Market conduct, or more specifically establishing best practices, is one of the pillars of this model. The new self-assessment scheme will complement the current rules-based market conduct supervision framework, SVS said.