Cross Border
Solutions
The world from
your doorstep
A truly global reach
With operations in over 70 countries worldwide and carefully selected network partners in an additional 90, we can offer you local cover worldwide for your clients’ global risks.
Allianz group has in-depth knowledge, skills and experience of local markets and our solutions are fully compliant with local insurance regulations. Access to our international commercial network can be arranged via UK based dedicated underwriters - providing international insurance solutions on your doorstep. Insurance rules and regulations vary from country to country. You can be assured that in choosing Allianz, you’re choosing a truly global partner with strength, stability, experience and service excellence. Our expert underwriters have an in-depth understanding of country variations and will ensure you get the compliant insurance solutions your clients need - no matter where they operate.
We won’t take risks with your risks.
Welcome to Cross Border
Solutions with Allianz
Clients with cross border needs are an important and growing
segment of the mid-corporate commercial insurance market. As a
worldwide leader in insurance and as the world’s largest Property
and Casualty insurer, Allianz is uniquely positioned to meet the
changing needs of mid-corporate clients who are based in the UK
but also have assets and liabilities elsewhere.
Allianz Advantages
• Strength and security from the world’s leading Property and Casualty insurer • Worldwide network in more than 160
countries
• Personal and tailored approach to ensure compliant cover worldwide
• Dedicated international network team with international business coordinator and technical experts in each territory • Can accommodate international
engineering and motor upon request • First class service and quality from quotes
to claims handling
• Established and dedicated international claims handing team (ICHC)
A partner of choice
As the world’s largest Property and Casualty insurer, we’ve
unparalleled knowledge and expertise and we’re committed to
sharing this with you. Our 142,000 employees worldwide assist
over 78 million customers. Expert branch champions will work
closely with you and your clients to ensure we fully understand
the risks and offer the appropriate solution.
Our international network of local Allianz companies will meet the specific needs of medium-large commercial clients. For your larger risks (above £350m turnover), we work with our sister company, Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty (AGCS), who can provide cover under an integrated international programme.
Unparalleled global reach, expert underwriters, truly compliant solutions and service excellence make our cross border proposition a compelling option for you and your clients.
Cover
We meet the requirements of a diverse scope of clients and understand that the insurance needs of each will differ. Our preferred approach is to arrange admitted policies. The Allianz international network can issue Standalone Local Policies in each country where the client operates. This ensures local mandatory requirements are met and that your client has direct access to local contacts and expertise.
For clients with property dominated portfolios and incidental exposure within the European Economic Area (EEA), we can offer Freedom of Services (FoS) cover under one single UK policy.
• Standalone Local Policies are coordinated through our international network of Allianz companies and network partner insurers and are underwritten on local terms with local documentation.
• Freedom of Services policies apply in EEA only, are suitable for smaller risks and provide insurance under a single UK policy.
• International Programmes are suited to very large risks (above £350m turnover) and can be arranged through AGCS.
Compliance
By placing your covers with one insurer, there’s less chance of coverage gaps or compliance breaches. We guarantee peace of mind and certainty that your policy will be aligned with relevant insurance and tax regulations. Through our network, we stay informed about political, economic and legislative developments to ensure that the chosen solution is fully compliant.
Expert Underwriters
To ensure we offer the highest levels of commercial and technical skills, we have international focal points across our UK branch network. These focal points are experts at assessing the best approach for dealing with an international enquiry.
They will work with dedicated professionals within the Allianz group who have knowledge of the local territory, meaning you and your clients won’t have to negotiate foreign territory in an unfamiliar language about unfamiliar cover.
Service Excellence
Our branch champions can meet with you and your clients to help identify multinational exposures, build solutions and continue to develop them as the business grows.
To ensure that your clients get the same service for local policies world-wide, we have agreed service standards in place to cover quotations, policy issuance and claims handling. Furthermore, we issue standard documentation across our network, ensuring
transparency of cover and avoiding misunderstandings.
Additionally, a group of international partnership brokers have been carefully selected based on the nature of their portfolio to service the insurance arrangement in countries where there is a requirement to have a local broker. If you’d like us to recommend a partner in the required country, please let us know.
Claims Service
Tailored to the location
Local market insurance cover for
multinational businesses
For companies with larger or more complex overseas risks, our preferred approach is to issue Standalone Local Policies in each country that they operate, ensuring guaranteed compliance.
Our UK branch champions will use our global Allianz network to arrange local policies which are tailored to local regulatory requirements.
The network is designed to enable you to arrange cover for your clients’ overseas risks, in the territory where those risks are situated. With Allianz operations in over 70 countries worldwide and carefully selected network partners in other locations, our international commercial network can service clients in more than 160 countries. The network seeks to deliver an overall solution for your client on an admitted basis. This means the overseas risk will be underwritten by the overseas underwriter on their local rating terms with local policy documentation. The advantages of this approach include the assurance that your client has complied with local insurance regulations, since a lot of countries require compulsory insurance to be in place for certain classes, such as workers compensation, and prohibit the purchase of compulsory insurance from insurers not licensed in that country.
Benefits for you
• Local service (i.e. competent, accredited on-site advisory and risk management services with local skills/market practice)
• Cover according to local legal and local market terms and conditions
• Potential tax advantages (difference in insurance premium tax: in some countries locally paid premiums are tax deductible and loss payments are tax exempt)
• Easy, quick handling and settlement of claims in accordance with local laws and claims payments can be made locally
• Policy is written in local currency, so there is no need to deal with different currency rates in determining the policy limits or premiums
• A group of partnership intermediary brokers has been established to service the insurance arrangement, where the client’s broker is not represented in the territory where cover is required, and/or the local Allianz company does not operate direct
• Easier for client to charge overseas insurance premium to local subsidiary
• Access to local insurance pools and compulsory insurance covers such as Natural Catastrophe funds, Workers Compensation and Terrorism
• Will comply with requirements for local taxes, levies and fees.
Class of business: Suitable for all types of property and casualty insurance, in particular compulsory insurance.
Coverage
The local Allianz office for the territory in which the risk is domiciled will issue a Standalone Local Policy providing the widest cover available in the local market. This will include access to pools and catastrophe arrangements.
• The Allianz network provides your clients with the benefits of a policy based on local knowledge and expertise
• We also have the capability to issue extensions for Difference in Condition (DIC) and Difference in Limits (DIL), providing assurance that all countries have consistent terms and conditions and limits of cover. Using an International Commercial Select or International Property Owners Select policy.
Servicing
• First-class service levels for issuing quotes and policy documentation
• Quotation provided in English language
• Policy documentation issued in local language, which can be provided to your clients’ local representative. This makes it straightforward for your UK clients to apportion the overseas premiums
• Standalone Local Policy summary available in English language.
Claims
• Claims notification will be in the overseas territory where the claim event occurred
• Claims notification should be via the overseas intermediary where one exists
• Allianz International Claims Handling team will be informed by the overseas international claims team if there are any claims that may result in a claim under the DIL and DIC part of the cover.
Payment
• Premiums will be charged in local currency
• Our local Allianz office will arrange payment of pool arrangements and local taxes on the clients’ behalf
• Premiums will be billed to the local Allianz office.
Summary
• Allianz UK coordinates the arrangement of Standalone Local Policies via the Allianz global network.
• The local policies will be underwritten on local rating terms with local policy documentation
Although an FoS approach may be legally permissible, there are a number of situations where an FoS approach may not be the best option for your client:
• FoS is not appropriate for liability business because of varying local legislation
• In some territories, access to compulsory local pool arrangements (e.g. natural catastrophe and terrorism) may not be possible without a local policy, in these situations we recommend a Standalone Local Policy.
Note: Under FoS the policyholder is liable for the tax/ charge, and the insurer is liable to pay the tax/charge to the relevant authorities. The non payment or avoidance of such payments is taken very seriously by Member States and the EU Commission. The policyholder should be held responsible for providing the insurer with the relevant information necessary to calculate and account for the correct taxes.
In some countries there can be a number of varying different charges relating to one policy or cover; insurance premium tax, para fiscal charges (such as a charge for Fire Brigade services) and a stamp duty or levy.
For companies with incidental overseas exposures, our FoS policies provide property, business interruption and third-party liability cover under a single UK policy for UK and EEA risks.
Cover can be provided under the following products:
• International Commercial Select (international version of Commercial Select, designed to cover a broad spectrum of risks)
• International Property Owners Select (international version of Property Owners Select, designed for commercial property owners).
European law allows non life insurers established in any member state the right to supply property and liability insurance (for which they are licensed in their home country) to firms resident in any other member state where the risk is situated. This is providing that appropriate taxes and levies have been paid to the foreign state’s authorities.
To qualify under the Freedom of Services (FoS) Directive the risk must be situated within the EEA (European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) and the policyholder and insurer must be domiciled in the same country if the policy is to have a legally binding effect.
For incidental
overseas exposures
F R E E D O M O FTarget
FoS is aimed at companies with small incidental overseas exposure (the amount of the turnover derived from outside of the UK should be incidental in relation to the overall turnover arising from the insured’s business activities).
Occupation of the risk is normally restricted to sales offices, distribution and light assembly – other occupations may be more suited to a Standalone Local Policy.
Benefits for you • Central negotiation
• One contract/product
• Central contacts
Benefits for your clients
• One contract in their native language
• Familiar scope of coverage
• Known law and jurisdiction
• Uniform risk management approach
• Familiarity with claims handling (all claims dealt with under one policy with one office of the insurer)
• Optimal control of information (e.g. loss ratio; no need to collect information from various places)
Servicing
This will work similar to UK domestic business with overseas tax applied and remitted to the overseas tax authority.
• First-class service levels for issuing quotes and policy documentation
• Policies issued in English
• We will work alongside our international network of risk engineers to carry out risk management surveys.
Claims
• UK based claims handling by our established Allianz Insurance plc international claims team
• Access to global loss adjuster network
• Single point of contact for claims
Payment
• One premium payable for both UK and overseas risk
• Premiums charged in Sterling
• We arrange payment of local taxes on the client’s behalfmmary
Summary
• Applies in the European Economic Area (EEA) States only
• Allows an insurer in one member state to write a risk in another member state on their own books, provided that the appropriate taxes and levies have been paid to the foreign state’s authorities • Provides a simple insurance solution for
The following are just some of the benefits available in the UK:
Property and Casualty Case
Analysis Tool (CAT)
Unique to Allianz our CAT is offered free to you and your clients. It will help you pin-point where the business is most at risk, by providing a detailed breakdown of claims, allowing trends to be recognised quickly.
Premium Instalment Plans
Subject to credit checks, we can offer flexible quarterly or monthly instalment plans to assist your clients’ cash flow. This is particularly useful for the smaller end of the mid-corporate market.
Allianz Legal Online
Allianz Legal Online (ALO) provides over 100 legal documents which can help your clients support their employees, comply with legislation and assist with their day-to-day business activities.
Available 24/7/365, the service is designed to make life easier for those clients with little time to dedicate to paperwork. We understand that one size does not always fit all, so our documents can be individually tailored to meet your clients’ business and relevant legal needs. We aim to make life easier with Legal Online.
Our Commercial Select and Property Owners Select policies
come with a range of additional benefits to add value to your
clients’ UK businesses.
Risk Director
Our free online service provides easy access to a one-stop-shop of expert knowledge. Technical notes, risk management guides, online access to site surveys and access to our preferred suppliers scheme are just a few of the services available. To register, please contact your local branch or self register at riskdirector.co.uk
Complementing our cover
A D D I T I O N A LHow can I identify which of my clients may need cross border cover?
Check your clients’ portfolios for the following:
• Small overseas element to their business insured elsewhere in the market
• Annual business travel policy which could indicate overseas operations.
Where can I get a quote?
Quotes and further information about our cross border cover are available from your local Allianz expert underwriters. Give them a call to discuss your clients’ needs.
What cross selling opportunities are available?
Annual Business Travel, Directors and Officers and Personal Accident are ideal cross selling opportunities. Please speak to your local underwriter if you would like more info on any of these.
What are the insurer’s requirements for multinational coverage?
The insurer’s requirements are as follows:
• Regulatory laws in countries must be adhered to
• Insurance licenses must be held unless a legal exemption applies
• Premium and para fiscal tax legislation must be adhered to
• Risk premium must be reasonably and fairly allocated per country of risk.
These principles apply to multinational insurance coverage and to any layer of direct insurance – primary, difference in conditions (DIC), difference in limits (DIL) – as well as co-insurance business. While the principles apply primarily to the insurer, the customer will benefit from knowing that the insurance provider is compliant. A non- compliant carrier can lead to an undesired result for the customer in terms of both the validity of the insurance coverage as well as the balance of the customers tax account.
Is the cover you offer on the overseas element up to the same high standard you offer for UK based risks?
Freedom of Services cover provides the same level of coverage for the clients’ European risks as for their UK portfolio.
Local Policy cover will be issued based on local market standard and will ensure access to any local compulsory pool arrangements.
What will happen if my client cancels cover on the UK element of his risk but still wants to continue covering his overseas premises with Allianz?
They can continue overseas cover where a local policy is in force in the overseas territories.
On FOS does the UK jurisdiction clause apply for risks outside of the UK?
In the event of any dispute or question relating to the validity, formation, interpretation and performance of an FoS policy, each party agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales
Premiums
How can premiums be paid?
Premiums can be paid by the following:
• Freedom of Services (FOS)
One premium payable for UK and European business – charged in Sterling for one single insurance contract
• Standalone Local policies
Premium is paid to local Allianz company. Where you are not represented in the territory where cover is required, a designated intermediary broker is billed and responsible for payment.
How much commission will I receive?
If you are represented in the territory where cover is required, you retain 100% of the commission. Where the client’s intermediary is not represented, the
network solution to this is by establishing a partnership intermediary arrangement. Each participating Allianz company has identified one or more local intermediaries through which all incoming policies can be dealt with. These partnership intermediaries can then make contact directly with you to agree the sharing of commission.
How will premium / payment of insurance taxes be allocated?
Allocation methods will vary by line of business. For example, property could be based on exposed values at risk per location, while casualty is based on turnover, payroll or total area as appropriate. Steps to satisfy requirements include:
• Risks (per contract and per line of business) must be identified and allocated to the jurisdiction where the risk is located
• Risk-adequate premium must be apportioned per country of risk/contract/line of business
• Premium tax laws in affected countries must be checked and the insurer must pay any applicable premium taxes, where required.
Risk Management
How will risk management requirements be managed on overseas risks?
Risk Management will be handled by the local Allianz company.
Claims
How will claims be dealt with?
Our established international claims team will manage all claims with an international dimension and will liaise with overseas Allianz companies as necessary.
• Freedom of Services
• Claims notification will be in the UK, via the UK broker
• Allianz UK will handle cross border claims.
• Local Policy
• Claims notification will be in the overseas territory where the claim event occurred
• Claims notification should be via the overseas intermediary
• Claims will be handled by the Allianz claims team in the local territory.
• DIC/DIL:
DIL above local policies
• Claims will be handled by the Allianz overseas claims team in conjunction with the Allianz UK international claims team.
• Allianz UK international claims will be informed by overseas international claims team where the claims reserve is greater than 50% of the local policy limit
• The UK pay the claim in excess of the level of coverage offered by the local policy.
DIC above local polices
• Claims will be handled by the Allianz overseas claims team in conjunction with the Allianz UK international claims team.
• Claims will be handled in the UK under UK jurisdiction.
Will UK claims experience affect the underwriting of the overseas risk and vice versa? Or will they be rated separately?
Under FOS the UK claims experience will be considered in conjunction with the overseas risk.
Under Local Policies, each territory will be rated separately. A five year claims experience should be provided for each overseas territory.
Policy documentation
Where can I get copies of overseas policy documents and summaries?
We’re here to help you help your clients. If you’d like to discuss how
you can develop your cross border business with us, or if you have any
questions relating to our entire product portfolio, please contact your
local Allianz branch or visit allianzebroker.co.uk
In collaboration with other Allianz entities in the UK, we can introduce a wide range of financial service solutions, such as:
Motor
Motor trade Motor fleetProperty & Casualty
Property owners ConstructionEmployers and public/product liability Material damage and business interruption Professional Indemnity
Accident & Health
Group personal accident and business travel
Small business
Office Flatowners Retailers Property owners Business ContractorEngineering
Engineering insurance Engineering inspection servicesProducts and Services
As Allianz Insurance plc, we provide domestic insurance solutions for all areas of your clients’ businesses, large or small.
Here to help
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