Licensing timeframes

27 August 2010

The Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Bill 2009 moved through its committee stage and third reading, and was passed by Parliament, on 26 August 2010. It will shortly receive Royal Assent and be passed into law as the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010.

The key dates in the licensing process are intended to remain as indicated in recent presentations, and are as follows:

The date by which existing insurers must notify the Bank whether or not they intend to continue to carry on insurance business in New Zealand following enactment of the legislation, will continue to be tied to 31 December 2010.

The requirement that persons that carry on insurance business in New Zealand must be licensed, will come into effect around 01 March 2012 (actual date dependant on date of Royal Assent).

The date by which all provisional licences shall expire, will be set to around 01 September 2013 (actual date dependant on date of Royal Assent).

The Reserve Bank will shortly be seeking notification from all existing insurers in respect of their intention or otherwise to continue to carry on insurance business in New Zealand and details will appear on this website.