Browser issue

It looks like the browser you're using doesn’t work well with our website. For a better experience, please update to the latest version of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.

Resources for insurers

Licensing and guidelines for insurers

Information on how to apply for an insurance licence and guidance for insurers on meeting the requirements of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (the IPSA).

Published:
Updated:

Applying for a licence

Persons seeking to carry on insurance business in New Zealand must be licensed under Section 19 of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 (IPSA). It is an offence for a person to carry on insurance business in New Zealand without holding a licence.

You should refer to the meanings of “contract of insurance” and “carrying on insurance business in New Zealand” in section 7 and section 8 of IPSA to determine if you need to be licensed. Only body corporates may apply to be licensed (see section 17 of IPSA).

The licensing process

Once you have read through the information on this page, including the relevant guidance documents, and familiarised yourself with the requirements under IPSA, get in touch with us through our form below.

It's important you contact us early in the process as we will need to schedule a minimum of two meetings with you before you submit your formal application for assessment.

After submitting your enquiry, our licensing and authorisations team will contact you to ask some questions regarding your proposed business.

We will tell you what is required for the next step and who you will be dealing with at the Reserve Bank. We will also provide our application form to assist you with preparing materials for discussion. 

Once you have prepared the requested information it is time to meet with us, share your plans and ask any questions you may have. After the meeting we will provide you with feedback for you to consider and incorporate into your business plan.

As you progress with your application, we will meet with you again at least once more. For this meeting we will expect to see how you have considered our feedback and how your business plan has developed. 

When it is time for you to submit your application, it is vital you ensure it contains all relevant information and supporting evidence. The more complete the application, the less time is spent requesting further information from you. We may request further information if parts of the application are not complete or if we require you to justify your approach. We appreciate your earliest attention to these requests so our assessment can continue at a good pace.

Once we have received all the necessary information, we will assess your application against the relevant legislation and prudential requirements. Occasionally we may request to meet and discuss certain parts of your application. We will keep you informed of our progress.  

We will notify you once our decision has been made. Depending on the outcome, we may want to meet with you to explain our decision and advise what options are available to you.

The length of time between your initial enquiry with us and when you submit your application is largely driven by you and your readiness to apply. Once we receive your application, we will endeavour to process it as soon as possible, but the length of our assessment will be determined by the completeness of your application and the complexity of your proposed business. Generally, our process takes between six to eighteen months.

Enquirer details

Proposed business details

Guidelines for insurers

The following guidelines will help you understand the supervision requirements of the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 and requirements for licensing.

Declarations and exemptions

The IPSA includes general provisions for declarations and exemptions that allow flexibility when applying the insurance prudential supervision regime where appropriate, provided certain conditions are met.

Read more about declarations and exemptions