On 28 February 2025, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) reminded companies offering group insurance policies of the upcoming licence requirement, effective 1 October 2025. This requirement follows a 29 September 2022 ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU, clarifying licensing obligations for group insurance providers.
What is Group Insurance?
The AFM notes that group insurance is an agreement where a company acts as the policyholder and adds customers (individuals or businesses) as insured parties. If a customer consciously chooses to be insured under the policy and the company receives remuneration, the company will be considered an insurance intermediary and must obtain a licence from the AFM as of 1 October 2025.
Remuneration includes any financial or non-financial benefit, except for passing on premiums and administrative costs. If no financial advantage is involved, no licence is required.
Exemption to the licensing requirement
Companies offering group insurance may qualify for an exemption under Article 7 of the Exemption Regulation under the Financial Supervision Act (Vrijstellingsregeling Wft) insofar as their activities only relate to the collection of premiums. This article provides that, under certain circumstances, persons who carry out insurance mediation activities complementary to the supply of a product or service, i.e. ancillary insurance intermediaries, are largely exempt from the Act on the Financial Supervision, if:
- the insurance covers the risk of breakdown, loss of or damage to the product supplied by the ancillary insurance intermediary; or
- the insurance covers non-use of a service supplied by the intermediary.
The premium may not exceed €600 on a pro rata basis per year in the cases mentioned under (i) and (ii), or in case it is complementary to a service and the duration of the service is equal to or less than three months, the premium may not exceed €200 per person.
Although the exemption generally applies to affiliated companies, the AFM allows group insurance policyholders to also rely on it if they can demonstrate that the insurance product meets the ancillary insurance intermediary exemption criteria.
Timeframe for licence application
Companies requiring a licence must apply before 1 October 2025. The AFM takes at least 13 weeks to process applications, so submitting well in advance is recommended.