Art. 1 Preamble
With the increasing integration of financial markets and
the growing number of internationally active insurance
companies there is an increased need for mutual
cooperation and information exchange between insurance
industry supervisors;
The Signatory Authorities to this Multilateral Memorandum
of Understanding (MMoU) on cooperation and information
exchange have reached the understanding in this
memorandum recognising that:
‧ practical arrangements concerning cross-border
cooperation and information exchange are essential not
only in crisis situations, but also in insurance
industry supervisors ’ dayto- day business,
especially given their significant role in preserving
financial stability;
‧ the ability to share information and provide
assistance requires a high standard of confidentiality
protection; and
‧ it is important to acknowledge and emphasise
observance of the IAIS Insurance Core Principles
(ICPs).

Art. 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this MMoU:
1.“ Signatory Authority ” means any insurance industry
supervisor who is an IAIS member or is represented by
an IAIS member(1) and – following a successful
qualification procedure – has acceded to this MMoU by
its signature. All Signatory Authorities are listed in
Annex A.
2.“ Requesting Authority ” means the authority making a
request under this MMoU.
3.“ Requested Authority ” means the authority to whom a
request is made under this MMoU.
4.“ Insurance Company ” means insurer, reinsurer and
(re)insurance group or a part thereof.
5.“ Regulated Entity ” means any company or other
person engaged in insurance activities subject to the
supervision of a Signatory Authority or applying for a
license to provide such services.
6.“ Person ” means a natural person, legal entity,
partnership or unincorporated association.
7.“ Applicable Law ” means any laws, regulation or
requirement applicable in the jurisdictions of
Signatory Authorities relevant to insurance
supervision.
8.“ Confidential Information ” means any information
regarded as confidential by the domestic Applicable Law
in the jurisdictions of Signatory Authorities.

Art. 3 Objective and Scope
1.The objective of this MMoU is to establish a formal
basis for cooperation and information exchange between
the Signatory Authorities regarding the supervision of
Insurance Companies where cross-border aspects arise.
2.It includes requesting and providing information on
operations of Insurance Companies supervised by all
Signatory Authorities having a legitimate interest.
3.This MMoU shall cover all issues related to the
supervision of Insurance Companies such as licensing,
ongoing supervision and winding-up processes (where
necessary).
4.Beyond the licensing, ongoing supervision and
winding-up of Insurance Companies, this MMoU shall also
be applicable to the supervision of other Regulated
Entities such as insurance intermediaries, and to AML /
CFT(2) matters, in such cases where the Requesting and
Requested Authority have those responsibilities.
5.The provisions of this MMoU are not intended to create
any legally binding obligations or to modify or
supersede any jurisdictional law. Nor does this MMoU
create any directly or indirectly enforceable rights.
6.This MMoU does not affect any provisions under other
multilateral or bilateral agreements.
7.This MMoU does not affect the freedom of Signatory
Authorities to cooperate and exchange information on an
informal basis or beyond the scope of this MMoU.

Art. 4 Principles
1.The Signatory Authorities acknowledge their ability to
obtain and provide information and agree on the need to
enhance their cooperation and exchange of information
on crossborder aspects to carry out their supervisory
responsibilities.
2.Subject to domestic Applicable Law, the Signatory
Authorities under this MMoU will provide each other
with the fullest assistance possible consistent with
their regulatory functions. They will consider requests
from one another seriously and reply without undue
delay.
3.Signatory Authorities rely on each other ’ s
compliance with the strict confidentiality regime as
set out in Art. 5 and Annex B which each of them has
confirmed and evidenced before acceding to the MMoU.
4.Signatory Authorities agree that any passing on to
third parties of Confidential Information received
under this MMoU will require prior explicit consent
from the Requested Authority.
5.Where Confidential Information is involved, the
Requested Authority shall make its own judgement and
decide in its sole discretion whether or not to
disclose Confidential Information on a case-by-case
basis.
6.Signatory Authorities will only make requests under
this MMoU where they have a legitimate interest in
information about Regulated Entities. Requests shall be
addressed primarily to the Supervisory Authority with
the greatest measure of regulatory responsibility for
the Regulated Entity.
7.Signatory Authorities may provide information,
including Confidential Information, on their own
initiative subject to the Confidentiality Regime of
this MMoU.

Art. 5 Valid Purpose and Confidentiality
1.It is a valid purpose under this MMoU for a Requesting
Authority to seek information relevant to its lawful
supervision of a Regulated Entity which is subject to
the supervision and responsibilities of the Requested
Authority.
2.It is not a valid purpose under this MMoU for a
Requesting Authority to seek information on individuals
unless the request is related to the fulfilment of
supervisory functions.
3.The existence and content of any request for
information made under this MMoU will be treated as
confidential by both the Requested and the Requesting
Authorities unless both Authorities agree otherwise.
4.Any Confidential Information exchanged belongs to, and
will remain the property of, the Requested Authority.
It shall be subject to professional secrecy rules at
least equivalent to the confidentiality regime outlined
in Annex B.
5.The Requested Authority will decide according to its
domestic Applicable Law whether or not information
requested and provided under this MMoU qualifies as
confidential.
6.The Requesting Authority will use Confidential
Information received under this MMoU only for the
purposes specified in the request.
7.The Requesting Authority will take all actions
necessary to preserve, protect and maintain the
confidentiality of information received from a
Requested Authority.
8.The Requesting Authority will restrict access to
Confidential Information received from a Requested
Authority to those persons working for the Requesting
Authority or acting on its behalf who:
a.are subject to the Requesting Authority ’ s
professional secrecy requirements;
b.are under its direct supervision and control; and
c.have a need for such information that is consistent
with, and directly related to, the purposes for which
the information was requested.
9.Where it becomes necessary for a Requesting Authority
to share Confidential Information provided under this
MMoU with other local, regional, state, federal or
international law enforcement or regulatory officials
who have authority over the Regulated Entity, the
Requesting Authority shall:
a.notify the Requested Authority promptly;
b.obtain prior consent; and
c.prior to passing on the information, ensure that each
recipient agrees to maintain the confidential status
of the information provided and has the legal
authority to do so.
10. Where Confidential Information provided under this
MMoU is subject to a legally enforceable request in
the jurisdiction of the Requesting Authority, the
Requesting Authority will notify the Requested
Authority prior to complying with such demand. Where
consent to passing on is not given, the Requesting
Authority will use all reasonable legal means to
resist such a demand or protect the confidentiality
of the information.
11. Such legal means include asserting such appropriate
legal exemptions or legal privileges with respect to
that information as may be available and affording
the Requested Authority the opportunity to take
whatever action it deems appropriate to preserve,
protect and maintain the confidential nature of the
information provided. This includes consenting to any
application by the Requested Authority to intervene
in any action to preserve the confidentiality of
Requested Authority Confidential Information.

Art. 6 Procedures
1.To facilitate an appropriate and timely response, any
request made under this MMoU shall be made in writing
and preferably through the use of the Request Sheet in
Annex D covering at least the following elements:
a.the Signatory Authorities involved, the field of
supervision concerned and the purpose for which the
information is sought;
b.details of the request comprising information on the
person or entity concerned, such as a description of
the facts underlying the request, specific questions
to be asked and an indication of any sensitivity
about the request;
c.a statement as to whether details provided by the
Requesting Authority should be confirmed or verified
and if so what kind of confirmation or verification
is sought; and
d.a statement on whether, to whom and for what reasons
Confidential Information is likely to be passed on.
2.The Requested Authority will confirm the receipt of the
request. It may require further details in accordance
with its domestic Applicable Law.
3.The Requested Authority will assess each request on a
case-by-case basis. In deciding whether and to what
extent to fulfil a request, the Requested Authority may
take into account:
a.whether the request conforms with this MMoU;
b.whether compliance with the request would be so
burdensome as to disrupt the proper performance of
the Requested Authority ’ s functions;
c.whether it would be otherwise contrary to the
essential interest of the Requested Authority ’ s
jurisdiction to provide the information requested;
d.any other matters specified by the domestic
Applicable Law of the Requested Authority ’ s
jurisdiction (in particular those relating to
confidentiality and professional secrecy, data
protection and privacy, and procedural fairness); and
e.whether complying with the request may otherwise be
prejudicial to the performance by the Requested
Authority of its functions.
4.Where the Requested Authority cannot entirely fulfil
the request it will cooperate with and assist the
Requesting Authority to the extent possible.
5.For urgent cases in which the use of the prescribed
form is not appropriate, a request can be presented
orally subject to written confirmation within 10
business days.

Art. 7 Points of Contact
1.To facilitate cooperation and information exchange
under this MMoU, the Signatory Authorities hereby
designate principal points of contact which shall be
kept in a list on the IAIS website.
2.All communications between the Requesting and Requested
Authorities shall take place between the relevant
points of contact unless agreed otherwise in a
particular case.
3.The Signatory Authorities will notify the IAIS
Secretariat promptly of changes with regard to the
principal point of contact. The IAIS Secretariat will
update the points of contact list on a regular basis.

Art. 8 Costs
If the costs of fulfilling a request are likely to be
substantial, the Requested Authority may, as a condition of
agreeing to provide assistance under this MMoU, require the
Requesting Authority to make a contribution to costs.

Art. 9 Participation in the MMoU, competent IAIS bodies,
commencement, and termination of the MMoU
1.Participation in this MMoU is open to any insurance
industry supervisor which is an IAIS member or is
represented by an IAIS member(3). All Signatory
Authorities must have fulfilled all accession
requirements as defined in detail in Annex C.
2.The IAIS Implementation Committee shall be the
competent body within the IAIS structure for the
implementation and monitoring of the processes and
smooth functioning of this MMoU as outlined in Annex C.
3.This MMoU will take effect once it has been officially
signed by at least three Supervisory Authorities. It
will continue to have effect until there are fewer than
two Signatory Authorities.
4.Any Signatory Authority may retire from its
participation in this MMoU at any time by giving at
least 30 days prior notice to the IAIS Secretariat
which shall inform all other Signatory Authorities
without undue delay.
5.Signatory Authorities will cooperate and exchange
information according to this MMoU during the 30 days
notice period until the actual retirement / termination
date.
6.Termination or retirement by any Signatory Authority
will not in any way affect:
a.the rights or obligations of any Signatory Authority
with respect to Confidential Information previously
received or provided under this MMoU,
b.any privileges associated with such information.
7.A Signatory Authority may be excluded from this MMoU in
exceptional cases (for example where a Signatory
Authority is held to have abused provisions of the MMoU
for its own or a third party ’ s purpose and in
particular where it contravenes the confidentiality
regime). Details are outlined in Annex C.

Art. 10 Review and Amendment
1.The Signatory Authorities will periodically review the
functioning and effectiveness of cooperation and
information exchange under this MMoU.
2.Any amendment to this MMoU requires the consent of all
Signatory Authorities and shall be done in writing.
This requirement does not apply to the list of
Signatory Authorities in

(1) Reference is made to Art. 6 No. 2 b) of the IAIS By-Laws
(2) Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of
Terrorism
(3) Reference is made to Art. 6 No. 2 b) of the IAIS By-Laws