Insurance

Cyprus, being an EU member state, benefits from a sound legal and regulatory framework with the Superintendent of Insurance safeguarding the high quality of insurance/reinsurance operations through an efficient supervisory review and monitoring to smooth running of the business. 

Highlights

• Solvency II is the largest ever change to European Insurance solvency regulations. Most European insurers are obliged to implement the full Solvency II requirements by January 2013. This will be a major driver for the development and embedding of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for the insurance industry. For many insurers it will be a significant change and a challenging transformation project.
• The move to a harmonised international Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Insurance Contracts (IFRS Phase II) is gathering pace, with a new standard on the horizon, which is expected to fundamentally change the accounting for insurance contracts. Insurers are also facing a shake-up in other key areas of financial reporting, including the basis for financial instrument measurement.
• Insurance/Reinsurance International companies can set up a Cyprus company following an application process
• Insurance Companies set up in an EU member state can carry out insurance business in Cyprus under the freedom of establishment/services provisions
• The corporate tax rates being 10% and the exemption of profit on disposal of securities from taxation, are attractive to foreign investor

How can PwC help you

PwC through its specialised knowledge and experience, can assist companies that wish to implement Solvency II and IFRS projects, to purchase an already established company, by providing consulting, auditing and regulatory taxation services.

PwC Cyprus has a strong position in the provision of audit services to a 30% of the Insurance Companies market in premium share and 20% in numbers of companies.