Who is entitled to provide insurance cover in Belgium?

Companies intending to offer insurance cover in Belgium must be approved by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).

The FSMA can authorise the following organisations to manage insurance applications:

• Belgian companies
• foreign companies with a Belgian subsidiary
• foreign companies involved in insurance activities in Belgium without having registered offices there.

The FSMA website provides a summary (in French or Dutch) of accredited insurance companies in Belgium, in each case including a list of branches (in French or Dutch) for which they can handle insurance applications (for example: ‘general third party liability insurance’ or ‘life insurance’).